It is only natural for people to start tuning out the Russo-Ukraine War as negative headlines have built up since Russia’s invasion last year, a Polish documentarian and war correspondent said.

“People want to mentally escape from the pretty grim reality,” director, writer and journalist Tomasz Grzywaczewski told Times of Malta ahead of a screening of his latest war documentary.

Documentarian, writer and war correspondent Tomasz Grzywaczewski. Photo: Courtesy of Tomasz Grzywaczewski

“The war has become a new normality,” Grzywaczewski said, understanding why people may mentally tap out from long-running war stories.

Since February 2022, Grzywaczewski has been serving as a correspondent for Poland's main public network TVP1, reporting from Ukraine’s frontline from various conflict zones such as Donbas, Kurdistan and Nagorno Karabakh.

“We cannot expect people to always focus on the war,” he said, as many have their own lives to think about, pushing global events to the back of their minds.

In Malta for a screening of his latest film, Erase the Nation, Grzywaczewski explained that while the initial shock of the invasion has passed, people are still interested in the war through more universal topics.

That is what Erase the Nation does, he said, as the film covers the destruction of Ukraine’s heritage and culture at the hands of Russian forces.

Narrating the film, Grzywaczewski visits cultural landmarks across Ukraine while interviewing citizens interested in protecting the country’s heritage. 

Starting in Kharkiv, Grzywaczewski opens the film with a conversation between himself and one of the city’s council members who handles the protection of the area’s historical heritage.

Walking around the city, Grzywaczewski is shown monuments covered with scaffolding and sandbags in an attempt to protect them from damage. 

“Culture does not seem so important when people are dying,” he said, admitting that human lives should always come first. But it does not mean that Russian soldiers are not targeting Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

Tomasz Grzywaczewski with the film's cinematographer Siarhey Marchyk. Photo: Courtesy of Tomasz Grzywaczewski

“The film depicts a forgotten aspect of this war… It is time to see the broad picture of this war as it affects all aspects of life in Ukraine, Poland and other European countries,” he said.

At the start of the invasion, it was important to update people about the front line but now, larger and more insightful stories can reattract the public’s focus as broader topics make them feel connected to the war-torn reality, the director explained. 

“Culture lasts longer than battles, than front line situations. And when it is targeted, it can damage a country’s legacy,” he said.

This is not Grzywaczewski's first foray into film. Alongside being a war journalist and an author, Grzywaczewski co-wrote Shadows of the Empire, a documentary feature based on his book Borders of Dreamlands.

An award-winning writer for his non-fiction book The Erased Border, Grzywaczewski’s passion to tell the world’s stories is driven by the impact it has on people.

A still from Erase the Nation. Photo: Courtesy of Tomasz Grzywaczewski

Around two weeks ago, Grzywaczewski screened Erase the Nation in New York. Following the screening, an architecture student approached the journalist, telling him that they want to go to Ukraine to work on restoring culturally significant monuments.

“It is a great responsibility to make documentaries… It is extremely satisfying to motivate people… but it is more because of our protagonists who influence the audience,” he said, believing that the role of a documentarian is to tell the stories of others.

“We have the privilege of witnessing dramatic and personal histories, and we often have the opportunity to give a voice to the people who cannot be heard, who are forgotten,” Grzywaczewski said

Erase the Nation will be screened at Spazju Kreattiv tonight at 6pm. The viewing will be followed by a Q&A session with Grzywaczewski.

For tickets, which are free but require booking, visit kreattivita.com or follow this link.