Best Foreign Film” award for the documentary film “Ukraine: Ice and Fire”, directed by Charles Comiti and Arthur De Poortere.
An exceptional 52-minute documentary filmed in February 2023 in Ukraine and broadcast in France on M6 for Enquête Exclusive and LCI. It was also sold internationally in the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Finland, Portugal and Poland.
The two filmmakers immersed themselves in the daily life of Ukrainian soldiers facing the Russian army, for 10 days and 10 nights, in the heart of the trenches.
They have weapons in their hands and rage in their bellies. Since June 2023, Ukrainian soldiers have been engaged in a deadly counter-offensive.
Despite the use of modern equipment, financed by many Western countries, territorial gains are rare. And the Russian army is holding firm. Surprising as it may seem, this conflict is first and foremost a war of position. For months now, our reporter Charles Comiti has been documenting this conflict through the eyes of two young soldiers: Plombyr, 24, and Sergueï, 29, who belong to the Arey battalion. Since February 22, 2022, this former business student and history teacher have been involved in every battle and on every front.
At the end of winter, Charles Comiti was able to spend ten days with them, close to the fighting, holed up in a trench from another war. Just a few hundred meters from the front line, these soldiers are caught in a daily deluge of fire. And in the face of the enemy’s might, they lack everything: food, weapons and ammunition. If they resist, it’s thanks to their knowledge of the terrain and their determination. Charles Comiti’s immersion is an exceptional testimony to a conflict that is taking hold over time, sometimes with derisory means.