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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ГРУДЕНЬ 2018 WWW. UNWLA .ORG 29 Branch 75 Hosts Film Screening of The Recovery Room and Honors Markian Paslawsky by Karen Chelak and Oksana Lodziuk - Krywulych The award winning feature documentary film The Recovery Room , directed by Canadian filmmaker Adriana Luhovy, was presented at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey in Whippany, New Jersey, on June 29, 2018. Sponsored by UNWLA Branch 75 (New Jersey Regional Council) , the well - attended event included the screening of the fi lm, a discussion period, and a reception. The main goal of those organizing and hosting this event was to encourage viewers to help offset the costs of the film production through donations. The documentary was filmed during 2014 and 2 015 and premiered in 2017. Th e costs of completing the film from start to finish, with proper editing, were enormous. These costs were partially covered by donations from the Shevchenko Foundation, the Canada Ukraine Foundation and other Canadian non - profi ts, as well as by in dividuals, but there is still a great need to offset the financial burden the director incurred . Another goal of the event planners was to honor the memory of Markian Paslawsky, the only American to have been killed in the ongoing inv asion of Eastern Ukr aine by Russia. Mr. Paslawsky grew up in the N.Y./N.J. area, and members of his family , as well as friends and community activists who knew him personally , attended the event. Mr. Paslawsky, a graduate of West Point, spent his career in the U . S . military. After retirement, with the rank of colonel, he moved to Kyiv where he worked as a financial advisor and obtained Ukrainian citizenship. When the war in Eastern Ukraine broke out in 2014, he realized he had valuable skills to teach the nascent Uk ra inian mi litary. He was killed in action in August 2014 . F ilm - maker Adriana Luhovy de dicated the eve ning to him . Branch 75 President Oksana Lodziuk - Krywulich addressing audience In her introductory remarks, Ms. Lodziuk - Krywulych stressed the film’s g oal of draw ing attention to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has received little media attention. After reading brief biographies of those involved in making the film, she introduced the producers, Yurij Luhovy and Zoriana Hrycenko, who are also the paren ts of the f ilm’s director, Adriana Luhovy. Mr. Luhovy and Ms. Hrycenko opened the event by reading a letter from Ms. Luhovy who was unable to attend. In her letter, Ms. Luhovy explained that prior to her departure to Ukraine to photograph the work of the Canadian Me dical Mission’s humanitarian project there, she was living in New York and completing some film courses. It was during this time that she visited the renowned Ukrainian Museum and saw the uniform of a deceased soldier known as “Franko.” This was the nom de guerre of Markian Paslawsky. She had previously seen the VICE NEWS online interview with the soldier named Franko, and his story had deeply moved her. Ms. Luhovy then explained her involve - ment with the Canadian Medical Mission, which was spon sored by Th e Canada Ukraine Foundation and was staffed by volunteer plastic surgeons and medical specialists, who aimed to make a difference in the lives of wounded Ukrainian soldiers. This humanitarian endeavor took place at the Main Military Clinical Hos pital in Ky iv, where these medical professionals perform complex reconstructive surgeries on the wounded. Ms. Luhovy had been asked to take photos of the patients, doctors, nurses and all medical personnel involved in the project. On her first day at the h ospital, sh e quickly realized that she needed to convey to the outside world, the intensity of what was happening and thus began filming and interviewing the wounded soldiers, the surgeons and all the medical professionals participating in this noble endea vor. It wou ld take the director more than ten months, as well as a follow - up visit to the Kyiv - based hospital, to obtain enough material to complete the film. It was while interviewing and filming soldiers and staff at the hospital that Ms. Luhovy encount ered a sold ier who spoke of fighting alongside an American, whom he referred to as “Franko.” He explained that they had been hit by a Russian grenade and related that although he had
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