Treasures of Crimea
18th september 2022
5:45 PM
Concorso Internazionale
Short Synopsys:
The travelling exhibition Crimea – Gold and Treasures of the Black Sea is being held hostage in the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. Since the annexation of Crimea by Putin, the art collection became stateless.
The treasures became a tool in a power struggle between Russia and Ukraine, both claiming the collection as their own. The Netherlands unwillingly became a referee. To which party should the exhibition be returned?
How an ancient collection from long lost civilizations became a focal point of one of the world’s major political controversies today.
Director’s statement:
The major political conflict between Russia and Ukraine is reflected in the outlined power struggle over the Crimean treasures. It was this minor conflict that inspired my film. During the research period I had extensive conversations with people in Crimea and Kiev, and also with lawyers from all three sides. It often happened that after such a conversation I became convinced that the person I had spoken to was right. Shortly afterwards, talking to someone from the other side, exactly the same thing happened to me. I wanted to translate this process into a film: if I had been tossed from one side to the other, would I have been able to trigger the same reaction in the viewer? In making this film, I also dealt with the tension between law and a sense of justice. When a judge has to pass an unequivocal sentence, a world opens up. Indeed, a filmmaker can show the story behind codes and laws. There is no single truth in this story, and it is the many truths of the various protagonists that create the arena in which the emotional issues of identity, law and justice become visible.