Razom Cinema Grant Report: Oksana Karpovych’S “Intercepted”

Razom Cinema Grant Report: Oksana Karpovych’S “Intercepted” – New Directors New Films 2024

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Having traveled around the world, collecting international awards along the way, Razom Cinema grantee “Intercepted” has come home for its theatrical release this August. A hearty congratulations to the Oksana and the whole film team with this accomplishment! With this in mind, let’s take it back to the beginning.

For the past 53 years, the Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) have brought together a program of films and filmmakers who speak to the present and anticipate the future of cinema – those who push the envelope in unexpected, striking ways. This is done under the auspices of the New Directors New Films (N/D) festival. In recent years, Ukrainian films started to populate the N/D line up and it’s no surprise to see groundbreaking films like “Stop Zemlia”, “Pamfir”, and now “Intercepted” take their well deserved spots as alumni of the festival.

For the North American premiere, Razom Cinema supported the “Intercepted” film team to bring director Oksana Karpovych, producer Olha Beshkmelnytsina, and composer Olesia Onykiienko to the premiere screening. For a film that exposes so much and reflects on the Russian imperial behavior with its complete disregard for civilian lives, it’s important to have the filmmakers be there to guide the audiences through thoughts and questions.

Since February 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine has intercepted and recorded thousands of phone calls made between Russian soldiers on the front line in Ukraine, to their family and relatives. Those phone calls were made public to expose the true mentality of those on Ukrainian land, committing war crimes. After reviewing hours of these calls, Oksana and her team came up with what now is an award-winning documentary “Intercepted” – a photojournalistic and audibly heavy report of what has happened in Ukraine.

If you weren’t able to catch the screening, make sure to listen in to the discussion with Oksana Karpovych at New Directors New Films.

Following the successful screening in New York, the “Intercepted” team was able to engage with various media and received several positive reviews from the likes of IndieWire, Variety, Filmmaker Magazine, and others. We look forward to seeing just how far the film will go in the coming fall, so keep an eye out for it!

Razom Cinema aims to promote and celebrate the vibrancy of Ukrainian voices and assure a strong representation of Ukraine on various important stages. From grants, partnerships, and programming, we unlock possibilities such as the ones listed above – bring Ukrainian creators to important spaces to meet, partner, and do with international talent.

Thank you to our donors who made this possible, and everyone who supports Razom.