Draft:Branded (2024 film)

Branded is a 2024 British Ukrainian 75-minute arthouse narrative drama film written and directed by Pauline Amos as an expression of support for artists who are censored, imprisoned, or killed by repressive regimes.

Branded began its preview tour of cinemas across the UK in February 2024 in support of Ukrainian charities and Jason McCue]’s Payback4Ukraine campaign.

Branded is registered with the British Film Council.

Reception
"The images are seared into my imagination; at times it looked like a renaissance masterpiece, beautifully evoked despite the grim story. A woman’s struggle to be free will always get my vote. A testament to art and survival." - Mariella Frostrup.

"It's a searing film which really cuts to the heart. I'm sure I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come." - George Monbiot.

"Branded seemed over before I had blinked an eye, its paradoxical beauty leaving me thirsty for more: notwithstanding its soul-wrenching subject matter, there is a joyousness at its heart - the joyousness of art. Branded is a triumph." - Chris Salewicz.

Cast and Crew
Pauline Amos performs, with the voice of Kateryna Polishchuk, a Ukrainian soldier who was captured and held by the Russian army in Mariupol.


 * Director / writer / producer Pauline Amos
 * Exec. Producer Colin Vaines U.K.
 * Exec. Producer Jane Alieva
 * Cinematography John Letsinger
 * Editor Natasha Westlake
 * Composer Jessica Dannheisser  Yury Revich
 * Theme song melody/lyrics Pauline Amos adapted into Ukrainian by Andriy Osadchuk
 * Performance - Pauline Amos
 * Vocal Kateryna Polishchuck   - Катерина Поліщук
 * Vocal Nazar Grabar - Назар Грабар
 * Colin Potter  Tim Burns  Frederik Neilsen  Connor Carver-Carter  Joe Brooks
 * Music; the original theme song written by Pauline Amos. Jessica Dannheisser composed scores for cello, played by cellist Rachel Lander. The song, translated in to Ukrainian and adapted by Андрій Осадчук - Andriy Osadchuk and sang by Kateryna Polishchuk in Mart Studio Sound Production, Kyiv, Ukraine. With further arrangement by composer Ilan Eshkeri in London.

Original Title
In 2022 the original script in English was called Born Criminal, inspired by Cesare Lombroso’s book where he argued people were born criminals and a notion that was believed by Hitler and inspired the Degenerate Art exhibition.

Born Criminal screened in London in Prince Charles Cinema add The Dolby Screen Rooms. When Jason McCue, a Human Rights lawyer, saw the film he asked to screen it in Kyiv with the launch of his campaign PayBack4Ukraine at the time of the Russian invasion, and so the film was translated into Ukrainian. Kateryna Polishchuk, known as Ptashka, or Bird of Azovstal, a defender of Ukraine, would replace the voice of Pauline Amos. A singer who joined the Ukrainian army, Kateryna was captured by the Russians in Mariupol and became a Prisoner of War. The Russians killed her fiancée, her friends: she endured the hardships of imprisonment. Singing to her brothers and sisters in arms helped to maintain her spirit. She was released on a prisoner exchange after four months, at 22 years of age. And then, Kateryna returned to the frontline. Watching Branded, Kateryna wanted to work with Pauline and the team as she could relate to the woman in the film so profoundly.

Accolades
Born Criminal feature film was selected by the following festivals in 2023:


 * Toronto International Women Film Festival
 * London Independent Film Festival
 * Paris Lift-Off Film Festival
 * Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival
 * Berlin Women Cinema Festival
 * Nepal Cultural International Film Festival