The famed director says his new film aims to “counter attempts to kill God” in people, both globally and in Ukraine
A new documentary film called ‘People of Christ. Our Time’ by iconic Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica that explores Kiev’s persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) premiered this week in Belgrade.
While featuring stories about the plight of Orthodox Christians all over the world, the film focuses on Ukraine, where there has been a split between the canonical UOC, which traditionally had close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Kiev-supported rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The UOC has been subjected to a harsh crackdown by the authorities in Kiev. Its activities have been banned and its clerics sanctioned, while recently adopted legislation threatens to effectively shut it down entirely.
Kusturica’s film tells the story of the priests and faithful who have had to endure persecution at the hands of the state.
The film includes a number of personal stories, such as of a Ukrainian native and Orthodox missionary, philosopher, and writer named Ruslan Kalinchuk, who spoke at large about the events leading up to the split of the Ukrainian church. Also featured is a priest from Kiev named Mikola Mogilny, who shared his view on the current state of religion in Ukraine.
Attending the premiere were numerous prominent international guests, including the Georgian ambassador in Belgrade and officials from Hungary and Slovakia. It was also attended by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije.
At a press conference held after the premiere, Kusturica expressed hope that the film would be shown across the globe, including in Ukraine. The filmmaker blamed the West for attempting “to kill God” in people, which, he said, it had succeeded in doing in Ukraine.
“This film… it is about God and man. The soul of Ukraine today is wounded, the Ukrainian government persecutes Christ Himself,” he stated, adding that “Ukrainians have been sold a war” by the West, and “they bought it.” He accused Western politicians of persecuting the Orthodox Church as a whole, quoting an unnamed US general as saying that “Orthodoxy is the number one enemy in the world.” He noted, however, that in some countries, such as Russia and Serbia, the Orthodox faith is strong despite the pressure.
“In Serbia, it seems to me, no matter how much Western politicians… try to kill God in us, with the help of the so-called soft power, which after the broadcasting of the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris has sharply manifested itself – it is impossible,” Kusturica said.
The film is currently being translated into other languages and will soon be available in countries besides Serbia.
