Photos by Stanislav Krupař, Punk Film
Three Czech conspiracy theorists who publicly doubted the reality of the war in Ukraine were brought to Ukraine for the filming of a documentary, writes Gromada cz.
The project involved two men and one woman who called the war a “special operation” and openly supported the Russian position. They spread conspiracy theories about media manipulation, doubted the number of casualties, and blamed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, liberals, and the Green Deal [the EU’s comprehensive strategy aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050].
The conspiracy theorists responded to a call from director Robin Kvapil, who appealed on social media to skeptics to see everything with their own eyes. The film crew traveled with the participants from Prague to Kharkiv and Donbas. During the trip, they came under missile fire, spoke with the wounded, visited mass graves, and went to an underground school in the metro where children study. The skeptics’ reactions were filmed.
For safety reasons, the project also involved a security analyst, a psychiatrist, and a translator who previously headed the Czech Center in Kyiv. The filming was challenging not only psychologically but also logistically — coordinated with the Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine.
The documentary Velký vlastenecký výlet [The Great Patriotic Trip] aims to show people who still deny Russian aggression what this war means for Ukrainians and why a similar threat could arise anywhere. The film’s premiere is scheduled for August 21.
