On the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (February 24), the Ukrainian TV channel STB will premiere How to Survive When You Are Being Killed, one of several documentaries produced by the Organization of Ukrainian Producers to mark the horrific milestone.
For the documentary, the filmmakers have not only collected the stories of 40 neighbours in one house, but have devised a set of rules on how to survive the occupation.
In the spring of 2022, during the Russian occupation of Gostomel, 40 neighbours, who didn’t know each other before the war, tried to survive together in one abandoned house without water, heat, light, food, and mobile or internet communication. The organisation writes how How to Survive when You are Being Killed “is a metaphor of society during the war…They are very different in age, occupation, social status and values, and their common journey to life lasted 17 days. But this is a story with a happy end. The film also can be just a practical instruction – it will really help to survive in the extreme war conditions.”
Yuliya Fedets, author of the idea and creative producer of the film comments: “This documentary belongs to films that convince: reality is scarier than we can imagine. I admire all the film subjects. To survive in their conditions is a phenomenal success. They did due to themselves, their qualities, traits, decisions and actions. What did this group of people go through? How did the situation change them? What these people have learned about themselves and others. And, finally, what helped the group to stay alive. These are the questions we are looking for answers to — to understand how to survive when you are being killed”.
Producer of both films and co-founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Producers Volodymyr Borodyanskyi comments: “The topics logically follow the war events in Ukraine. The first OUP films covered the war’s beginning; now the moviemakers’ attention has shifted to life with an armed enemy at your home who can kill you just because he wants to. This all is about human nature too, its heights and depths, about behavior, thoughts and feelings of people in an extreme state.”
In February 22 ARTE broadcast the premiere of the OUP documentary The Art of War: Ukrainian Culture In Resistance, which was filmed with the participation of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska (trailer: https://youtu.be/SQfziHAyf3A ).
The OUP documentary Against All Odds: The Failure of Russia’s Blitzkrieg was broadcast on German channel n-tv. In the coming months these films will also be shown in other countries around the world.
OUP are now negotiating for all films to be shown within different countries, the organization confirms. The first 4 OUP films were shown on TV channels in more than 20 countries and Mariupol. Unlost Hope was screened in more than 50 countries.
In How to Survive when You are Being Killed the rules of survival during occupation, as articulated by the characters in the film, are as follows:
- Unite with your neighbours
- Remain vigilant
- Adapt to extreme conditions
- Adhere to the rules of co-existence
- Choose a leader
- Stockpile food
- Stockpile water
- Do not provoke the enemy
- Keep calm
- Take every chance you can
The Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP) is a group of seven Ukrainian producers (Volodymyr Borodianskyi, Daria Leygonie-Fialko, Alla Lypovetska, Marina Kvasova, Igor Storchak, Victor Mirskyi and Iryna Zaria), established in March 2022. OUP makes documentaries and feature films about the background, development and consequences of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. OUP has produced 9 documentaries over the year and 4 more are in development, as well as the fiction film Stay Online.
