Youtube/aurevlis

Members of the Ukrainian army

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was the target of fierce criticism after they posted photos of cadets marching in high heels on Facebook, as part of the preparations for the Independence Day parade.

Ukraine will celebrate 30 years of independence next month, so extensive preparations for the military parade are underway.

Now Ukraine have another footy battle to worry about! Sexism row after female Ukrainian soldiers were forced to parade in HEELS pic.twitter.com/FrLAvfzGHt

— AJAK (@AjakAjak1652) July 3, 2021

Cadets who are preparing for the march in shoes with high heels, instead of in standard military boots, will also take part in the parade.

Many Facebook users have sharply criticized the Ministry for posting photos, stating that such shoes have nothing to do with the military, and that it is about sexism.

Opposition party politicians also criticized Defense Minister Andrija Taran as a gift from high heels.

As they stated, they sent one pair each to the president of the country and the supreme military commander, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Personally, I feel if they’re going to make female soldiers wear heels to parade, it’s only fair the men wear them too. It would be excellent training for discomfort and blisters https://t.co/o3Aj47j9ey

– Jen King (@JustJenKing) July 4, 2021

The Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. came together virtually on Sunday to announce the winners for 2020.

In a year when the film industry was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s awards ceremony included images that premiered at film festivals but had not yet released in theaters, streaming or video-on-demand.

The top honors went to Steve McQueen’s “Small Ax,” a collection of five films about the West Indian community in London between 1969 and 1982. It won awards for best picture and best camera, beating Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” in both Categories. In addition, the anthology was awarded second place in the categories of director and music for its episode “Lovers Rock”.

Zhao won the director’s award for “Nomadland”, which was recognized as second for best picture and best camera. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was also shown with much love at the annual deliberations and recognized in both the actor and leading actress categories.

Frances McDormand in “Nomadland”.

(TIFF)

The Leading Actor Award went to Chadwick Boseman for his performance as a troubled trumpeter in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”. Riz Ahmed finished second for “Sound of Metal”.

Carey Mulligan took on the lead for “Promising Young Woman” and Viola Davis was runner-up in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”.

Youn Yuh-jung won the supporting actress award for her role as the long-suffering woman in “Minari”. Amanda Seyfried was named runner-up for “Mank”.

Supporting Acting Honors went to Glynn Turman for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” with Paul Raci finishing second for “Sound of Metal”.

Emerald Fennell won the screenplay award for “Promising Young Woman,” while Eliza Hittman took second for “Never Really Sometimes Always”.

The animation winner was “Wolfwalkers” from Apple TV +. Disney / Pixar’s “Soul”, which received the highest honor for its score, was named runner-up.

Donald Graham Burt won for production design for his work on “Mank”, Sergey Ivanov came second for “Beanpole”, the foreign language winner (“Martin Eden” was declared runner-up for foreign language film).

Shabier Kirchner received the Cinematography Award for his work on “Small Ax”. Joshua James Richards was named runner-up for “Nomadland”.

Garrett Bradley’s “Time” won for documentary / non-fiction, with “Collective” running second. Yorgos Lamprinos received the award for the adaptation of “The Father”, Gabriel Rhodes came second for “Time”.

The Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Award was given to John Gianvito for “Her Socialist Smile”. The director and screenwriter “The 40-Year-Old Version”, Radha Blank, won the group’s New Generation Award.