On the question of cinematograph as a “soft power” in the context of the Russian – Ukrainian war

In the article the role and potential of the Ukrainian cinematograph as a tool of a “soft power” in the context of the Russian–Ukrainian war is considered. It was found out that the Russian – Ukrainian war, which started in 2014, is a catalyst for the Ukrainian cinema development not only as art but also as a subject of the national dignity. Russian aggression has activated additional options of the cinematograph transforming it into a “soft power” and a tool of the national identity expression. It must be argued that until 2014, the vast majority of films that belonged to the category of “national cinema” were Ukrainian only by passport, not by spirit, and their directors failed to de-russify and de-colonize themselves in a deeper sense. This led to an indifferent attitude and lack of interest on the part of the international film community towards Ukrainian cinema as a separate artistic phenomenon, which for a long time in the West and in the world was perceived in the projection of Russian cinema. It was only after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of a hybrid war that the Ukrainian film product managed to enter the European and global markets with a national vision. With the more big intensity these processes got activated from the moment of the full scale Russian invasion in February 2022, where the main role of a “soft power” started to play the Ukrainian documentary (“20 days in Mariupol”, “Our war”, “Porcelain war”, etc.) as an effective tool of damaging stereotypes as for Ukraine and the means of self-presentation of the Ukrainians to the world in the quality of non-Russians, different nation who has been fighting for own ideas, value and cultural identity.