Traumatizing: why Ukrainians criticize domestic horror The Witch of Konotop

This year's Odesa Film Festival featured the premiere of a new Ukrainian horror film, The Witch of Konotop. The plot tells the story of a witch from Konotop taking revenge on the Russians for killing her lover. At the beginning of the movie, you can see a disclaimer warning about the presence of scenes of "martyrdom of the occupiers."

However, as noted by DM film reviewer Liena Chychenina, the authors should have warned not only about the footage of the massacre of the invaders. The film contains a scene that "depicts the naturalistic rape of a Ukrainian woman by Russian soldiers." According to the journalist, who survived the occupation, this footage had a great impact on her emotional state, reminding her of a difficult period.

Chychenina emphasized that the filmmakers of The Witch of Konotop should have warned the audience about it. "Not a word about the rape. Although it looked much more real than the martyrdom of the occupiers," the author noted. "I managed to avoid sexual violence because I was just stupidly lucky. And now imagine what will happen to the female viewers who survived."

The film reviewer added that she has already encountered similar responses. According to her, instead of a "therapeutic movie" about revenge, Ukrainian women will get a traumatic experience. "To prevent such cases, we invented disclaimers. Thus, people can at least make a choice or prepare themselves," the journalist added. The premiere of The Witch of Konotop on the big screen is scheduled for August 22, 2024.

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