Militantropos

a film by

Ukraine, Austria, France | 111' | 05/2025 | documentary

MILITANTROPOS captures the human condition through the fractured realities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film pieces together everyday lives transformed by war — those who flee, those who lose everything, and those who stay to resist and fight — tracing both the instinct to survive and the need for closeness.
Amid devastation and atrocity, the human is absorbed into war — and war, in turn, becomes part of the human.

“An exquisitely crafted vérité journey comprised of painstakingly framed snapshots of an unfortunately contemporary Ukraine.”
Square Eyes - logo_quinzaine_int_rvb
“An exquisitely crafted vérité journey comprised of painstakingly framed snapshots of an unfortunately contemporary Ukraine.”
Square Eyes - logo_quinzaine_int_rvb

Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi

Biography

Yelizaveta Smith is a film director, co-founder of Tabor LTD, a member of the Ukrainian and European Film Academy. Her documentary, SCHOOL NUMBER 3, co-directed by George Genoux, won the Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury Berlinale 2017, and a Special Award at HumanDOC Festival in Warsaw. Sundance Screenwriters Lab Alumni, Sundance Institute Documentary FilmProgram Grantee.

Alina Gorlova is a film director, co-founder of Tabor LTD, a member of the Ukrainian and European Film Academy. Her latest documentary, THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP, won the award for Best First Appearance at IDFA, the Best Feature Award at Festival dei Popoli, GoEast, Beldocs, One World, etc. Sundance Institute Documentary FilmProgram Grantee.

Simon Mozgovyi is a Ukrainian film director and film editor, a member of the National Filmmakers Union of Ukraine. His debut documentary, THE WINTER GARDEN’S TALE (2018), premiered at Ji.hlava IDFF and then participated in DOK Leipzig, won the Best Ukrainian Film Award at Docudays UA IHRDFF. Sundance Institute Documentary FilmProgram Grantee.

Filmography

Yelizaveta:
• 2017: SCHOOL NUMBER 3 – feature
• 2019: SOLITUDE – short
• 2021: Break the circle – feature
• 2025 – Militantropos – feature

Alina:
• 2016: Kholodny Yar. Intro – feature
• 2017: Invisible Battalion – feature
• 2018: No obvious signs – feature
• 2020: This Rain Will Never Stop – feature
• 2025 – Militantropos – feature

Simon:
• 2018: The Winter Garden’s Tale – feature
• 2020: Salt from Bonneville – feature
• 2022: Orpheus Is Standing On The Bank Of The Styx – short
• 2025 – Militantropos – feature

Crew

Director: ​​Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi
Script:​​​Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgovyi, Maksym Nakonechnyi
Producer:​​TABOR: Eugene Rachkovsky
Co-producers:​​
Mischief Films: Ralph Wieser
​​​Les Valseurs: Nabil Bellahsene, Justin Pechberty, Damien Megherbi
Associate producer:​Viktoriia Horodynska
Image:​​​Viacheslav Tsvietkov, Khrystyna Lizogub, Denis Melnyk​
Sound Design:​​Mykhailo Zakutskyi, Peter Kutin
Editor: ​​​Yelizaveta Smith, Simon Mozgovyi, Alina Gorlova
Music:​​​Peter Kutin
Editing consultant:​Dieter Pichler

Festivals

  • Directors’ Fortnight – Cannes, France (14 – 22 May, 2025)
    Official Selection

Password




Press materials

EPK: Click here

Stills & directors photos: Click here

Dialogue list English & French: Click here

Embeddable teaser: Vimeo

Embeddable trailer: Vimeo & Youtube  (coming soon)

Downloadable excerpts: Click here

SOCIAL MEDIA:
@erzhbettt
@alina.gorlova
@mozgovy

@tabor_production
@lesvalseurs
@mischief_films

Press quotes

“Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith, and Simon Mozgovyi’s mesmerizing vérité documentary is another entry in the unfortunately burgeoning Ukrainian nonfiction new wave.”
“An exquisitely crafted vérité journey comprised of painstakingly framed snapshots of an unfortunately contemporary Ukraine.”
Grade A – Critic’s Pick
Review: Lauren Wissot – Indiewire

“a Wiseman-like approach to a country at war.”
“The camera- and soundwork is often striking and the result absorbing.”
Review: Boyd van Hoeij – ScreenDaily

“Militantropos manages to be not only one of the best documentaries of the year, but one of the best movies of the year.”
Review: Creative Cinematic Collection

“It is perhaps the film with the greatest artistic audiovisual impact on the war in Ukraine.”
“seems to have found the right key to combine documentary cinema in its artistic sense as a cinema that analyzes reality.”
Review: Viktor Toth – East Journal

“Militantropos is an unflinching attempt to make social and psychological sense of how humans – in this case, Ukrainians – learn to live in wartime.”
Review: Savina Petkova – Cineuropa

“This is a powerfully moving and beautifully shot documentary.”
Review: Matthew Turner – Next Best Picture

“Every sequence has an emotional honesty baked into it that refuses to play to expectations.”
“It’s not about explaining the war; it’s about showing what it does to the people who live through it.”
Review: Chris Jones – Overly Honest Reviews

“The film takes an observational and minimalist approach that show both brutality and pain, as well as everyday resilience, that sense that “life goes on” despite everything.”
Review: Diego Lerer – Micropsia Cine

“a great number of Militantropos‘ exquisitely composed shots are eye-wateringly gorgeous.”
Review: Marc van de Klashorst – ICS Films

“Using the tools of cinema verité, they create a painful and brilliant example of poetic cinema.”
Review: Michele Faggi – Indie-Eye

“A stark and thoughtful documentary full of quietly powerful moments.”
Review: Daniel Allen – Loud and Clear Review

“The images are both stunningly beautiful and heartbreaking.”
“The mix of sound and image move us on a level beyond words.”
Review: Steve Kopian – Unseen Films