Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian film director and writer. “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange” marks her debut feature-length documentary film and has won a directing award at Sundance and two major honors at Docudays UA International Human Rights Film Festival. She’s directed several fiction and documentary short films including “Commemoration,” “Home,” “Tayra,” and “Kid.” Tsilyk is the author of several books published in Ukraine and some of her poems and short stories have been translated into more than 10 languages.

“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange” was scheduled to screen at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. A digital version of the fest has been organized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange” is screening in Hot Docs Festival Online, which launched May 28 and is geo-blocked to Ontario, Canada. More information about the program and how to tune in can be found here.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

IT: The Russian-Ukrainian War in Donbas is still going on, but civilians’ lives are going on, too. Our film is based on the observation of one unusual family among others: single mother Hanna and her four children live in the “red zone,” but they try to keep their home as a safe haven, full of life.

Every member of the family has a passion for cinema and they all shoot an amateur film inspired by their own life during the war.

The film asks: Does art somehow inspire us to deal with traumatic experiences? What can help us to stay human in times of trial?

The story raises many questions and gives at least some answers.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

IT: We have a very cool project in Ukraine known as Yellow Bus: different professional filmmakers arrange cinema camps for children in a war zone. The film producer Anna Kapustina was one of the leaders of this project, and was considering shooting a documentary about it. She invited me to the camps of Yellow Bus as a guest and as a tutor, and then we had an idea to make something like a group film portrait of different teenagers from the war zone who fall in love with cinema.

I eventually met Myroslava and Anastasia Trofymchuk, sisters in one of the camps. They invited me and my crew to their home in the small town of Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region. We went and met their mother and siblings, and we felt a very special atmosphere at their home. I realized that if we could dive in the life of this family, it would make for a much more intimate and deep film.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

IT: I think our story is quite universal. Apparently, not everyone in the world knows what war is — but lots of people know what everyday survival means in this big world. All of us need some basic things to rely on: family, friends, love, art, etc.

I hope that viewers will love our protagonists who are so brave and full of life. Also, I hope that people from around the world will get to know a bit more about my country and maybe somebody will figure out that the Russian-Ukrainian war is going on for the seventh year, and people in the war zone still try to fight for the normalcy of their lives.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

IT: The biggest challenge for me as director was shooting real people. I used to shoot fiction films and control the reality within the frame, but the genre of documentary is rather new for me and it’s really different.

I realized that shooting a documentary film portrait means spending as much time as possible with characters. It is necessary to become a part of their lives, to become so familiar and as close to them as possible and spend months together.

Another challenge was a huge feeling of responsibility. When you shoot real people with their real lives, real dreams, and fears, you should be very careful. There are many thin lines and questions of ethics around filmmakers. I’m learning to identify them.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made. 

IT: The production of our film was realized by Ukraine’s Albatros Communico and Lithuania’s Moonmakers film productions. From the very beginning, the project was supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency. Later, we found another partner, the Lithuanian Film Centre. Our film also got two grants from the IDFA Bertha Fund supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Program.

We were so grateful to all the support of our partners — it gave us a chance to make the film as it was conceived. Usually — and especially now — Ukrainian filmmakers have to fight to keep their projects alive.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

IT: When I was 15, I dreamed about the career of a TV presenter. I asked my mother to come with me to Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinematography and Television to learn more about the film faculty. We went and I discovered that there are plenty of different specialties other than TV presenting about which I had heard nothing. I told my mom that being a film director seemed much more interesting than presenting.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

IT: One of the tutors in our film school told us, “Be observers. Watch the people around you, listen to their conversations, note everything you notice, and steal everything you want. There are plenty of stories around us.” I was 17 and this advice was revelatory. I’m 20 years older now, but I still use it and steal everything I want: different details, dialogues, and all the other special gifts of real life.

As to the worst advice, “You can’t shoot children and cats – that’s too easy a way to the hearts of the viewers.” Our tutors told us that, too. I partially agree with this advice, but everything depends on its situation. If I listened too attentively to that advice, I would never would have shot “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange,” which is full of cats and kids.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

IT: I don’t have any advice for anyone, bur I do believe in girl power, and I’m surrounded by strong and cool women. When we are supportive and kind to each other, we can move mountains. Let’s be brave enough to do everything we want and help others.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

IT: It’s really difficult to mention only one favorite woman-directed film. I love Jane Campion and Isabel Coixet’s films. I find these directors really interesting.

Shainee Gabel’s “A Love Song For Bobby Long” made an impression on me. I fell in love with the dialogue between Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta, as well as the film’s music and special atmosphere. It’s something like Chekhov in American style when people drink tea — or beer — and talk while their lives are getting destroyed. I was so struck by the film that I sent feedback to the director, who I didn’t know, about it — that’s the one and only time I’ve ever done something like that.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

IT: I struggle with trying to increase the efficiency of my existence during quarantine times, but I am often defeated. The presence of my son somehow structures my existence, and I try to fight all the black holes of endless TV watching, Facebook-battles, and aimless self-digging, to save the face of a good mother and film director.

For example, among all the setbacks, there are two unexpected victories during the quarantine period: I’ve helped my son to improve his English a bit and I’ve written the script for my future fiction feature film. Regarding the last point, it is an obvious victory because I did not dare to do it for many years.