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16 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 2015 the critical status of the Ukrainian economy is the senior population. The UNWLA is in the process of activating aid from its “Babusi” Fund, which is meant to help elderly women, perhaps shut-in, who are struggling to cover the most basic of their expenses. The administration of the City of L’viv is assisting us in compiling a comprehensive list of the needy. We hope to be able to report on this endeavor in next month’s issue. Thank you, our dear readers, for your con- tinued support! Euromaidan and the War through a Film Lens: Interview with Filmmaker Lesya Kalynska by Olesia Wallo They say that in the past year, Ukraine has experienced a true blossoming of documentary cinema. Many filmmakers have picked up a camera to capture the tragic, historic events that began in Novem- ber of 2013 in Kyiv and continue to this day in Ukraine’s east. Kyiv-born and New York-based director, writer, and producer Lesya Kalynska is one of them. The feature documentary, Heaven Admits No Slaves, is a fascinating work in progress that has brought co-directors and co-producers Lesya Kalyn- ska and Ruslan Batytskyi, and their crew face to face with brutal violence and heroic self-sacrifice— and transformed them into real advocates for Ukraine on the international stage. Heaven Admits No Slaves director and producer Lesya Kalynska. Lesyu, you have been on the Independence Square in Kyiv from the beginning of the Euromaidan protests. What prompted you to start filming in those early days? It happened naturally. I was in Ukraine at that time and just could not NOT do it. When the protests began, my friend and colleague, Ruslan Batytsky, and I instantly called each other and asked the same question: “Are we making a movie about it?” We decided to go for it, invested our own first funds, and just started filming. Who are some of the most interesting peo- ple whom you met on the Euromaidan? I guess they would also be the characters of your film, right? Yes. This was actually one of the most chal- lenging tasks for us—to choose the characters— because there were so many interesting people there. We felt like the most talented, passionate, amazing people had gathered on the Euromaidan and we did not know whom to follow. So we start- ed by interviewing many people—maybe 20-25. Right from the beginning we decided that the film is going to be about ordinary people who then turn into extraordinary revolutionaries. Eventually, our circle narrowed down to several characters. Some of their names are real and some are not; out of safety concerns, I cannot name some of them be- cause they are still in danger being in the east of Ukraine. First and foremost, it is Askold and Knia- zhna. Being from very different regions in Ukraine, these two people met on the Maidan and fell in love. Askold is from Donetsk—an area where, as we know, people’s loyalties are split between Ukraine and Russia. Kniazhna is from Western Ukraine originally, but she has lived in the south of Ukraine and in Kyiv—thus, she combines different sensi- bilities. Askold is a psychologist by training, but he left his work behind and became a professional revolutionary. When the war in the Donbas began, he decided to join the people’s battalion Aidar. Kniazhna has a Master’s degree in economics; she used to run her own business in the Crimea, but she lost it when the Crimea was annexed. She also has two daughters. Right now though she devotes
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