Winner of ‘Zero Discrimination’ minifilm contest declared

February 28, 2020

Kyiv, 28 February 2020 – The winner of the "Zero Discrimination" minifilm contest, devoted to international Zero Discrimination Day, has been declared today in Kyiv!

The winner was “To See the Homeless,” directed by Andriy Lagutin, on discrimination against homeless people in Ukraine.

Nearly 40 creative teams from all over the country submitted entries to the contest, from which five finalists were selected. The winner receives a prize of UAH 40,000.

As per the goal of the contest, all finalists covered important topics of discrimination in Ukraine, each of which is worthy of special attention.

The jury of the competition evaluated the videos made by the teams according to the following criteria: topic disclosure, motivation for positive action, and creativity.

The contest was held by the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine, in partnership with the Molodiya Festival and the International Centre for Policy Studies, as part of the #RespectUA communication campaign to promote tolerance.

To See the Homeless

  • Director: Andrey Lagutin
  • Operator: Athanasius Chavdaridi

Filming in stark black and white, Lagutin interviews several of Kyiv’s estimated 20,000 homeless people, stripping away the stereotypes imposed them, and exposing the talents, likes, qualifications and characters of each of his subjects. The message ­– that these are people just like any others, only without homes – is hammered in with each shot. The 2-minute, 18-second film ends with short portraits of each of his subjects, and the final title “Everyone deserves respect.” 

To respect LGBT+

  • Director: Yuri Yudin
  • Operator: Dmitry Kaminsky

Infused with dark humour, Yudin’s minifilm sees a gay couple fanaticise over the death of “her,” and the burial of “her” body. It emerges that “she” is discrimination (the word “discrimination,” pronounced “diskriminatsiya” in Ukrainian, is a noun with feminine grammatical gender.) “So: Can we live a normal life now?” asks one of the heroes of the film, before we are shown shots of the couple dancing, hugging, kissing and holding hands. “The main thing is that nobody digs her up again,” muses the main character, and the minifilm ends with the closing title: “In Memory of Discrimination.”

Marta

  • Director / operator Olena Kramdada
  • Composer: Dmitry Burko

Minifilm director Kramdada tells a semi-autobiographical story about how her father Andriy killed her friend – a goat called Marta. From that day on, Kramdada gives up eating meat. Kramdada’s father, a former musician, became a farmer and took the role of the village butcher ­– he advises others on how best to slaughter an animal, and slaughters animals on behalf of others who find it “unpleasant” or who “don’t like blood.” At the end, Kramdada fantasises about throwing away her father’s killing axe and enjoying a vegetarian meal with him. The minifilm reminds us that discrimination and the issue of rights may not be confined just to our own species. The last title informs us that in the two days it took to shoot the film, 400 million animals were slaughtered for food.

Inclusivity

  • Directors: Andrey Litvinenko, Tatiana Dorodnitsina

This minifilm features Agnes from Nikolaev, a person with disabilities who is a master of sports in swimming. Showing Agnes in training in the gym, in the pool, and in everyday activities such as going down stairs and getting onto a bus, the minifilm emphasises that life is a game we should all play together, and the whole of society is a team. “We’re all different, but there’s one society, and we’re all players on the field,” Agnes says.

No Ageism

  • Director: Lada Sabova
  • Authors: Meshki Production

Sabova sits a young man and an older man in front of each other, with an open door between them. As they talk, they both show that they harbour discrimination based on age – one of the most widespread forms of discrimination in Ukraine. The conversation breaks down, and the door between the two people is shown to be shut. The young man rises and leaves, shortly followed by the older man, who leaves in the opposite direction. As they do, the titles “An ageist lives in every one of us” and “Try to fight it” appear on screen.

According to UNDP’s Human Rights Progress Study 2016-2018, perceptions of discrimination are quite widespread in Ukrainian society, with 55 percent of respondents believing that it is a problem. According to the respondents, the most common reasons for discrimination are age (40 percent), disability (32 percent), sexual orientation (24 percent), health status (25 percent) and sex (25 percent). In addition, 20 percent of respondents believe that discrimination occurs in Ukraine on the basis of one’s political views and financial status.

The United Nations marks Zero Discrimination Day on March 1. The event was launched to highlight that everyone has the right to live in dignity, regardless of age, gender, social status, sexual preference, national or ethnic origin, appearance, profession, faith etc.