Filmmaker killed in Mariupol: Ukraine

According to Ukrainian military another filmmaker has been killed, this time trying to flee the besieged city of Mariupol. Named as Lithuanian Mantas Kvedaravicius, 45, was killed, he was killed on Sunday, April 3.

The death was announced on the Ukraine Defence Ministry’s Twitter feed as well as Russian filmmaker Vitali Manski, who founded Artdocfest, a film festival in Moscow.

According to the Defence Ministry: “While trying to leave Mariupol, the occupiers killed Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who is the author of the documentary Mariupolis.”

Manski wrote on Facebook that Kvedaravicius “was killed today in Mariupol, camera in hand” in this “shitty war of evil against the whole world.”

⚡️ Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius killed in Mariupol.

Kvedaravicius, 45, was best known for his documentary “Mariupolis,” which premiered at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.

📸: International Film Critics’ Week pic.twitter.com/nmW4KFk4N7

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 3, 2022

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said it was “shocked” by the news of Kvedaravicius’ death in Mariupol “where he was documenting Russia’s war atrocities. His previous film Mariupolis (2016) told the story of a besieged city with a strong will to live.”

Born in 1976, Kvedaravicius made his name with the documentary Mariupolis, filmed in the Ukrainian city and which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2016.

Mariupol has become the focus of the Russian invasion, however strong resistance has managed to keep the invaders at bay but at great cost. It is believed that as many as 5,000 citizens have lost their lives while the remaining 160,000 face shortages of food and water. Various attemps have been made to create a humanitarian corridor out of the city but the Russians so far have not kept to the agreement.

This is the second filmmaker capturing the atrocities in Mariupol and other cities to die this month.

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