On the occasion of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Permanent Representation of Italy to the OSCE, in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute of Vienna, organised the screening of the documentary film Wartime Notes by Barbara Cupisti, produced by Clipper Media and Rai Cinema.
The film recounts the unarmed resistance in Ukraine by covering the journeys and choices of a number of particularly representative figures who tried to “find meaning in the futility of war by discovering the strength and courage of Ukrainian women and men”. One of the film’s protagonists is Oleksandra Matviichuk, winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
The film has received numerous international awards. It was presented at the 52nd Molodist Kyiv Film Festival, at the 9th International Documentary Festival Visioni dal Mondo in Milan, and at the 44th edition of the Florence Cinema and Women Film Festival. Wartime Notes also won the Best Foreign Film Award at the Bir Duino Film Festival in Kyrgyzstan.
The film is available on the RaiPlay platform: https://www.raiplay.it/programmi/wartimenotes
Before the screening, Ambassador Stefano Baldi, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the OSCE, and Ambassador Giovanni Pugliese, Ambassador of Italy to Austria, gave a short introduction, which was followed by speeches by the President of Rai Cinema Nicola Claudio and by the film director Barbara Cupisti. Clipper Media producers Sandro Bartolozzi and Barbara Meleleo, the director of photography Antonello Sarao and Rai’s Head of Documentaries, Gabriele Genuino, as well as Eugenio Zoffili, Head of the Italian Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, were also present.
The event took place at the Italian Cultural Institute of Vienna on 23 February 2024 and was attended by numerous Ambassadors, other members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Vienna and OSCE officials. The screening confirmed the strong emotional impact of the film’s stories and images among the Viennese audience.