"Bring the Dog": A Ukrainian Filmmaker's Raw View of War Evacuations

A new documentary shows the dangerous work of volunteer evacuations in eastern Ukraine. The film, "A Poem for Little People," was made by director Ivan Sautkin. He also served as a volunteer on the team. The camera follows the group as they convince civilians to leave frontline homes. In one scene, a woman refuses to go because of her paralyzed brother and her dog. A volunteer calmly promises to carry her brother and bring the dog. She finally agrees, wiping away a tear. There are no interviews or explanations in the film. The audience simply watches the raw events. The volunteer leader, Anton, stays calm even during heavy gunfire. The work is emotionally difficult. At one point, the team evacuates an elderly woman over broken roads. They worry the painful journey might be worse than the danger she left behind. Sautkin also filmed a pensioner living near the Russian border. That man secretly acts as a spy for the Ukrainian army.