Film Screening & Discussion. The Earth Is Blue as an Orange

The Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University presents a screening of the new documentary film The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020) followed by a Q&A with director Iryna Tsilyk.

Russian and Ukrainian with English subtitles. Film runtime: 74 minutes.

Anna is a single mother living under siege with her four children in the war zone of Donbas, Ukraine. While there are bombings and chaos in the outside world, the family struggles to keep their home a safe haven, full of life and light. The family’s passion for cinema drives them to shoot a film inspired by their own life during the time of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. For Anna and the children, transforming trauma into a work of art is the ultimate way to stay human.

The Earth Is Blue as an Orange is an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival 2020, Doc Fortnight 2020: MoMA’s Festival of International Nonfiction Film and Media, and the Berlin International Film Festival.

Iryna Tsilyk (born in 1982 in Kyiv) is a Ukrainian filmmaker and writer and is the author and director of several short fiction and documentary films. The Earth Is Blue as an Orange is her debut feature-length documentary. Moreover, Tsilyk is the author of eight books published in Ukraine (which include poetry, prose, and children’s books).