Porcelain War — The Oscars-nominated movie you should watch

The Ukrainian documentary Porcelain War won the main award of the Directors Guild of America (DGA Awards) in the nomination Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for 2024, and was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2025 Oscars in Los Angeles, but lost to No Other Land.

Novyny.LIVE explains why the Oscars-nominated Ukrainian film is still worth a look.

Porcelain War — plot and making

Ukraine had every chance to win the most influential award in the film industry for the second time, but this time the Academy awarded the golden statuette to another film. Nevertheless, the documentary about the war in Ukraine should not be overlooked.

Porcelain War was made in cooperation with the United States, and directed by Slava Leontiev, who also played one of the main roles, and Brendan Bellomo. For the Ukrainian artist, the project was his debut in cinema.

The movie tells the story of Ukrainian artists from Kharkiv — Slava Leontiev, his wife Anya Stasenko, and their friend Andriy Stefanov — who stayed in the city during the full-scale Russian invasion and continued to create. The artists decorated the buildings destroyed by the occupiers with porcelain figurines that reflected the world before the war and hope for a better future.

The film premiered at Sundance in January 2024. At that time, the Ukrainian team won the main award — the Grand Prix in the documentary competition. Subsequently, Porcelain War won several other film awards.

Overall, the film has received positive reviews from critics and audiences around the world. The work of the creators of Porcelain War reminds us of the importance of art even in the most difficult times, the value of creativity and humanity during war, and the desire for peace.

You might be interested to watch more Ukrainian movies available on Netflix with subtitles. We also wrote that Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah supported Ukrainians during the Oscars 2025 awards ceremony.