A Documentary That Makes Art Amid War
Art and war generally do not go hand in hand. But a documentary released in January, Porcelain War, is shining a light on how beauty can survive in dark times. The film follows three Ukrainian artists—Anya Stasenko, Slava Leontyev, and Andrey Stefanov—as they pursue creativity under the shadow and destruction of the war with Russia.
Without Aniela Sidorska, Porcelain War would not exist. As the producer of the documentary (with her production company, Imaginary Lane), Sidorska guided this project from its genesis to premiere season—where it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. That’s film-speak for one of the highest possible honors in the industry.
On the heels of that major achievement, and days before the documentary is showing at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History as part of the Margaret Mead Film Festival (find tickets for the May 11 screening here), Sidorska is hoping to make a global impact. Read on for how she and her team made art in the midst of war.
From black-and-white to technicolor
I was born in Poland in the ’80s—when Poland was still Communist. It was a very black-and-white world. The ceiling of possibility and imagination was low. And cinema made my life colorful. It showed me great opportunities and possibilities that I just couldn’t have otherwise imagined. So from a very young age, it was ingrained in me that I wanted to become a filmmaker one day.
Years later, I was working in the film industry—for other people and companies, in visual effects, developing a very eclectic background. I realized through these experiences that in order to tell the kinds of stories that influenced me as a child, I needed to have control. That’s why I started Imaginary Lane. We are focused on telling interesting, female-centric stories and showing audiences people that they otherwise might not have met.
My goal is full-circle. I want to give other people that same feeling I had watching cinema as a child: raising the ceiling of imagination and who you can be. It’s a way of giving back and putting something good into the world.
Life imitates art
Porcelain War is the first film Imaginary Lane produced. I found the story because I was looking online for different artists and inspiration, and I came across this couple—married creative partners, Anya and Slava—who make beautiful porcelain figurines. I was drawn into their art and decided to form a friendship with them. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, I reached out to them. They told me they were staying—Slava was a special forces soldier—and Anya would continue making their art.
At that point, I realized why I felt a connection with Anya: She’s surrounded by destruction and despair and darkness, yet she’s so motivated and imaginative and is truly putting beauty back into the world. It was that same story from my own childhood. I felt that this was a woman people should know.
We sent cameras to Anya and Slava, and also followed Katya, the commander of the special forces unit. We worked with them for a year and half, teaching them how to film themselves. It became an incredible journey. I realized Anya was this quiet force of nature—a light in the darkest of times—and on the other side of the spectrum, Katya was in the middle of these incredibly intense moments of destruction in battle. I hope that every woman who sees this film sees a bit of themselves in Anya or Katya, and that everyone sees what women can be.
Women supporting women
What I love about producing and having Imaginary Lane is that I get to follow my passions. To me, the job of a producer is wanting to tell a specific story and believing you can convince every person around you to get on board and shepherd it—having that belief and passion to get the story from concept to screen.
Our entire producing team is female—it’s the core of what we’re trying to do. We paired up with Paula DePré Pesmen and Olivia Ahnemann, as well as Camilla Mazzaferro of the Sydney-based production company Finch No Worries. One of the proudest things for me was building this incredible team of women—colorists and visual effects and animation—who took it to the highest level.
The highs and lows
It was so incredible to win at Sundance. The first time we saw Anya and Slava in person was when they got off the plane in Park City. We had made an entire film with them—had become like family with them—and finally got them out of Ukraine. It was a beautiful moment to be together, watching them take a deep breath of relief in being safe and surrounded by love and support. To me, that’s been the best part: being with these people we dearly care about.
We made a film in a war zone. Every single day was incredibly challenging—air-raid sirens going off and missile strikes coming down on people we’d grown to love. But I was proud to be a shepherd and a guiding light as our team persevered. We kept telling ourselves, If Anya can go through this war, we can make this film. We constantly reminded ourselves that we’re doing it for her. It was always a way to move forward.
Making a real difference
Anya is continuing to make her art. She says that for everything that’s being destroyed in the world, especially Ukraine, she wants to keep adding more back in. That’s the core of why I started Imaginary Lane—to put things back in the world as women. There are a lot of things we can’t control, but we can make a difference that way.
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