BY KAREN BOSSICK
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, an award-winning cinematographer stopped documenting history from the sidelines to become part of it.
But Artem Ryzhykov didn’t put down his camera.
He carried it along with his weapon as he joined Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces. And he captured an intimate record of life on the front lines for a film he has titled “A Simple Soldier.”
The Sun Valley Film Festival will screen that film at 5:30 p.m. tonight—Thursday, June 11—at The Argyros in Ketchum as part of its Monthly Movie series.
Filmed over nearly four years, “A Simple Soldier” documents moments of fear, friendship, sacrifice and survival.
More than a war documentary, it is a deeply personal story about resilience, humanity and the extraordinary choices ordinary people are forced to make when their world changes overnight. And it details the humor and hope that gives those people the strength to endure.
Tickets are available at https://svffyearround.eventive.org/schedule/6a270bcdf2a06021a9012fa2.