In a studio in Colorado, married artists Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko have continued the meticulous porcelain work they were known for in their home country of Ukraine. As they create, they are, of course, with their constant companion, protector, and public relations officer, Frodo, their dog.
It’s a temporary arrangement, part of a year-long effort to support a documentary about their art and wartime lives, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film "Porcelain War."
Together, the couple creates delicate porcelain creatures, with Leontyev carving the forms while Stasenko brings them to life with imaginative painted details. Their distinctive work had already drawn admirers worldwide before the war.
When Russia invaded, Leontyev began to divide his time between art and service. During the day, he worked with Ukrainian Special Forces, teaching civilians to defend themselves. At night, he returned to the porcelain work in their home studio.
As different as they were, the two parts of his life both had the same goal: the survival of Ukraine.
"The main target of Russian aggression of this war… is our culture, our identity," Leontyev told CPR News. "It's our duty to continue our culture and art."
Stasenko, too, sees their artistic practice as its own form of resistance.
"Slava's rifle is Slava's rifle,” she explained. “My rifle is my brush. And I sit near my table and draw our animals because people need it.”
A few years ago, social media posts of their work caught the eye of U.S. filmmaker Brendan Bellomo, who reached out about collaborating on an animation project together.
"We were just absolutely blown away by their figurines," Bellomo said. "I had never seen something so small that had such huge stories on it, I just couldn't believe it."
But then, in late February 2022, Russia invaded.
When Bellomo reached out to ask when the couple would be leaving, he was surprised to hear that they weren’t. Instead, a new idea was born, to capture what the couple and everyone around them was experiencing, on film.
“It just came up so organically about, ‘Could we send a camera?’ And they were just absolutely not only open to that, they thought it would be incredibly interesting to share what they were going through,” he said.
But to make it happen, the documentary had to come together through remote collaboration, with Bellomo's team shipping over the camera equipment and then training Leontyev how to use it over Zoom.
"It was certainly one of the largest challenges of this film, to work 6,000 miles apart, not speaking the same language ... When you are giving people an opportunity, perhaps even metaphorically, to understand what was happening in the first moments of the war, that's going to hold immense power," Bellomo said.
The resulting documentary, “Porcelain War” was co-directed by Slava and Brendan Bellomo. Fellow artist Andrey Stefanov joined as the de facto director of photography. The artists made a conscious choice to focus on life rather than destruction.
"(The) result to filming of all these destruction (would) just to make something sad," Leontyev said. "But we (did) not agree to help this evil make people sad. We must bring, even from the center of this destruction, we must bring for people kind of hope and inspiration."
Oscar-winning Colorado-based producer Paula DuPré Pesmen, known for “The Cove,” joined the project early on. Pesmen said she saw something universal in the couple’s determination to create art in the face of devastation and fear.
"It's not just a story about war or Ukraine, but it's really about treasuring things that you love and that are near and dear to you and doing all you can to preserve those if they're in jeopardy," she said.
While Slava and Anya have taught themselves English since arriving in Colorado last January, Bellomo says the bond he’s formed with them transcends language and cultural barriers.
"There are deeper things that bond us together, certain instincts and values and ways of thinking, not just the content of our memories,” he said. “And I think those things really enabled us to truly co-direct this film. And I feel certainly closer to Slava than I do to many people that I might be related to, even by blood and family lineage. So that was a remarkably gratifying discovery."
Since their win at Sundance, Leontyev and Stasenko have made a temporary home in Colorado, where they continue their work while sharing their story through film festivals and screenings before they return to Ukraine next year. For them, both their art and film carry a broader message.
"It's not about Ukraine and Ukrainian only," Leontyev said, "it's about all of us ready to defend democracy, who appreciate humanity and humans’ uniqueness."
"Porcelain War," co-directed by Leontyev and Bellomo, is currently playing in wider release and at film festivals.
