PORCELAIN WAR is a powerful account of life amidst the chaos and destruction 
of the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film follows three artists who defiantly find
inspiration and beauty as they defend their culture and their country. In a war waged by professional soldiers against ordinary civilians, Slava Leontyev, Anya Stasenko and Andrey Stefanov choose to stay behind, armed with their art, their cameras and, for the first time in their lives, their guns. Despite daily shelling, Anya finds resistance and purpose in her art, Andrey takes the dangerous journey to 
get his young family to safety abroad, and Slava becomes a weapons instructor for ordinary people who have become unlikely soldiers. As the war intensifies, Andrey picks up his camera to film their story, and on tiny porcelain figurines, Anya and Slava capture their idyllic past, uncertain present and hope for the future. Co-directed by Slava Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo, with extraordinary footage from first-time 
cinematographer Andrey Stefanov, PORCELAIN WAR embodies the passion and fight, that only an artist can put back into the world when it’s crumbling around them. PORCELAIN WAR debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it won the Grand Jury Prize 
in the U.S. Documentary Competition and has gone on to win audience awards at festivals around the world. Porcelain War is a true cinematic gem. Co-directors Slava Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo manage to gracefully capture the dissonance between the horrors of war and the fragile beauty of nature and artistic practice. Anya’s and Slava’s porcelain pieces come to life in delicately crafted animations that offer context to their makers’ story and a stunning outlet for processing grief.
For more go to: porcelainwar.com
In NY at the IFC Center on 11/22
In LA at the Leammle Monica on 11/29
Winner — Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize
Official Selection — DOC NYC Shortlist
Official Selection — SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Winner — Best Documentary, Best Documentary Editing, Woodstock Film Festival
Cinema Eye Honors — Audience Choice Prize Longlist
About the filmmaker – SLAVA LEONTYEV (Director, Participant) is a first-time director born into a family of biologists in Ukraine. Merging his love of nature and art, Leontyev has spent his life studying painting, photography, graphic design and art theory. Alongside his wife and longtime collaborator Anya Stasenko, Leontyev now creates the porcelain sculptures featured in Porcelain War. He is also a former soldier of the Ukrainian Special Forces and a highly regarded weapons instructor for civilians who are currently defending their country against Russian aggression.
About the filmmaker – BRENDAN BELLOMO (Director, Writer, Editor) was the recipient of a 2009 Student Academy Award® for Live Action Narrative. Bellomo’s passion for storytelling was first sparked when he was a child. Beginning his career in visual effects, he supervised the 2012 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Oscar® nominee for Best Picture Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight). Most recently, Bellomo was the executive producer on the Netflix Original Chupa. Bellomo worked closely with Annie Leibovitz on the global exhibit “Women: New Portraits” and designed the curriculum for the first visual effects course at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, which led him on the path to eventually pair with his directing partner, Slava Leontyev.
About the subject – ANYA STASENKO (Associate Producer, Participant) is a ceramics artist and experienced nature photographer who has been deeply engaged in the fine arts since her early childhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine. As such, Stasenko’s paintings have become her lifelong language. While studying at the Kharkiv School of Arts and Academy of Design and Arts, she developed a unique style of painting on ceramic miniatures. This is also where she began to collaborate with Slava Leontyev, now her husband. Together, they create the widely recognized tiny porcelain figurines featured in Porcelain War.
About the filmmaker and subject – ANDREY STEFANOV (Cinematographer, Participant) was born in Feodosia, a town in Crimea, Ukraine, and received his artistic education in Kharkiv. He then returned to his home in Crimea, where he became an artisan winemaker and recognized oil painter. For many years Stefanov created fine art photography, landscape paintings and still lifes. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Stefanov and his friend Slava Leontyev decided to pick up film cameras, discovering a new medium to express their artistic perspectives. This is Stefanov’s first feature credit as a cinematographer.
SOCIAL MEDIA
instagram.com/picturehouseusa
instagram.com/brendanbellomo
instagram.com/porcelainwarfilm
instagram.com/stasenko1639
“A powerful testament to the resilience of the artistic spirit…” – Peter Howell, Toronto Star
“Cinematic essays take many forms: few are as fragile and contemplative as Porcelain War.” – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily
“The importance of art in the fight against fascism is the point of “Porcelain War,” a documentary in competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival about artists who have turned into soldiers in the Ukrainian war against Russia.” – Sarah Manvel, In Their Own League
“A united resistance effort: war balanced by love, bloodshed by beauty.” – Guy Lodge, Variety
“A combination of whimsy and devastation.” – The Wall Street Journal
“Porcelain War masterfully illustrates the enduring power of art in the face of adversity.”- Awards Daily