Intercepted explores the motivations behind those who come to wage war in your country by presenting two parallel worlds. Through a series of unhurried shots, the film captures images of destruction in Ukrainian villages, towns, houses, and motorways after their liberation from Russian occupation. However, the focus is not solely on devastation; it also highlights landscapes slowly coming back to life, offering a sense of hope amidst the horror.

The film contrasts these quiet scenes of everyday Ukrainian life with a shocking soundtrack: intercepted phone conversations from 2022, recorded by the Ukrainian Secret Service, between Russian soldiers in the trenches and their families back home. These conversations reveal confessions of atrocities—rape, looting, and torture of civilians and prisoners of war—while the voices on the other end, mostly women, reflect a disturbing mix of chauvinism, hatred, and propaganda.

In Intercepted, director Oksana Karpovych brings sound and image face to face, creating a cinematic space where both elements stare at each other in stunned confrontation, offering a powerful meditation on the impact of war and the resilience of life.

"The Terrific Ukrainian documentary is an austere and harrowing chronicle of life,
death and indifference" - New York Times

"A damning piece of documentary filmmaking" - Variety

"A formally audacious chronicle that used audio-visual disconnect to make us fill in the blanks" - Indiewire

 

 

Special screening in LAB-1: Expected  between 24 nov and 8 dec.