The picture was filmed in the city of Mariupol and towns Sartana and Shyrokyne from spring to fall of 2015, gazeta.ua reminded us. It is a universal film about people and circumstances, the value of each moment; the people who live and keep hoping despite becoming accustomed to the Grad rocket launchers roaring a few dozen kilometers away. It is not about struggle, but about life, which runs its course despite the change of flags or soldiers coming to the town. This film is not about war, but rather about peace during the war. Showing that peace is important for the present and for future generations alike.
Mariupolis is a co-production involving Ukraine, Lithuania, Germany, and France.
In Ukraine, director Mantas Kvedaravicius has worked on two documentary films, Mariupolis and Stasis, the latter being a long-term film project dealing with the topics of the body, joy, and alienation in three cities (Odesa, Istanbul, Athens).
Kvedaravicius came to Odesa in the spring of 2015 to work on the Stasis documentary project and decided to shoot a few scenes in a Greek village in eastern Ukraine, near Mariupol. On arriving in Mariupol, the director realized, in his own words, that it was the most cinematic city, where one just had to make films!
