Filming of the documentary film “How to survive when you are killed”, which will premiere on February 24 on television, has been completed.
This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to the Union of Ukrainian Producers, which is the author of the film.
“The film is built as a survival manual: 10 rules that give completely unprepared people a chance to survive in the extreme conditions of war. Each rule is illustrated by our story. I am convinced that it is the ability to unite and the proactive willingness of everyone in their place to take care of others that ensured the success of this group of people. They survived,” Yuliya Fedets, the author of the idea and creative producer of the film, said.
“How to survive when you are killed” is the story of 40 strangers who found themselves together in an abandoned house in Gostomel in the spring of 2022. All of them are civilians and were not prepared for extreme conditions: constant shelling, an armed enemy nearby, lack of water, food, heat and communication, life under the gun. But they are united by a single goal — to get out of this situation alive.
The main idea of the film immediately caught the attention of the producers. “It was a story of a miracle rescue thanks to responsible neighbors. They were saved because everyone cared about each other,” noted the film’s producer, Ilona Shneider.
According to Schneider, when she first got to the filming location, she thought it was a Hollywood location where a movie about the apocalypse is being filmed. There was not a single centimeter of the house or street that survived – everything was completely crushed. “It seemed that it was simply impossible to survive in such a place. But the heroes of the film succeeded. Day after day, getting to know the characters, their lives and circumstances more deeply, the entire film crew was filled with such compassion for them that secretly each of us thanked God that these people survived,” said the producer.
Most of the heroes of the film live in Kyiv after the evacuation, some live in the destroyed residential complex in Gostomel. Someone went abroad, but with thoughts and feelings, they are all there, in their mutilated dream houses. Before the occupation, it was a new, beautiful residential complex, in which successful professionals from professions far from the war bought apartments.
“We started filming in the summer, and one day in the morning we arrived at the location, and there the whole street had blossomed overnight, full of flowers. At that moment, I realized that we will all succeed together. Ukraine will win,” said Schneider.
The premiere of the film will take place on February 24 on the STB TV channel as part of the broadcaster’s special programming for the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Photo: Union of Ukrainian Producers
