What to Watch: Rule of Two Worlds
With their country at war, Ukrainian artists embark on a quest of faith, identity and resistance in this urgent and moving cinematic odyssey from Ukrainian-American director David Gutnik (Materna, Tribeca 2020), executive produced by Liev Schreiber. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in competition, where it was recognized with a Special Jury Mention for human rights and artistic expression. Following a tour of notable festivals around the world, Monument Releasing will open the film in New York at DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema on Friday, August 16th, 2024 with rollout to select cities.
RULE OF TWO WALLS is an intimate look at the war in Ukraine, as seen through the eyes of Ukrainian artists who remain in their country to make art as a defiant act in the face of aggression. Using live music performance, painting, street art, and the act of filmmaking itself, it illuminates the war’s psychological frontlines: how to go to a restaurant or bar amid the near-constant blare of air-raid alarms and missile strikes; how to process, react and resist, while having to go about the rhythms of daily life. Blurring the lines between what is seen in front of and behind the camera, the film probes what it means to make cinema in a time of war.
RULE OF TWO WALLS is written, directed and edited by David Gutnik. Producers are Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Sam Bisbee and Stacey Reiss. Cinematography: Volodymyr Ivanov and David Gutnik. Original Music: Andrew Orkin. Executive Producers: Liev Schreiber, Natalia Libet, Lance Acord, Jason Weinberg, Brett Etre, Jackie Bisbee, Michelle Booso, Gil Elbaz. Co-producer: Emily McCann Lesser.
