Ukraine has won the Panorama section of the Berlinale for the first time — the film Traces received the Audience Award at the 76th festival, according to Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna.
Ukraine won the Berlinale Panorama award for the first time — the film “Traces” received the audience award at the 76th festival.
“The world has heard Ukrainian women. Thank you to them for their strength and courage to talk about the most painful things,” Berezhna wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
According to her, the film “Traces” by directors Alisa Kovalenko and Marisa Nikityuk received the award in the Panorama Dokumente category based on the results of a vote by 26,500 viewers.
“Traces” tells the stories of Ukrainian women who survived sexual violence during the Russian aggression and decided to testify. Therefore, it is especially valuable that the award is the choice of the audience, a living response to the truth that cannot be ignored.
According to the UN, more than 90% of Ukrainian military and civilians who were held captive by Russia reported torture and inhumane treatment. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war and remains one of the most silenced crimes. Traces breaks this silence, the deputy prime minister noted.
Director Alisa Kovalenko personally experienced sexual violence while in captivity in Donbas at the beginning of the war. She was one of the first women in Ukraine to speak publicly about this experience, and her story was the impetus for the film, Berezhnaya said.
