Please join the Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University for a screening of Bucha and an in-person discussion with the filmmaker, Oleksandr Shchur. Professor Yuri Shevchuk will introduce Oleksandr Shchur and mediate the Q&A with him.
Ukrainian filmmaker and producer Oleksandr Shchur, is back! He will introduce and discuss his recently finished movie Bucha. This war drama is inspired by real-life events that took place on the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion launched on February 24, 2022. Says Oleksander Shchur,
“When in April of 2022 we learned of the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities under Russian occupation, we knew we had to tell the entire world about it. Through this project we want to bring attention of the international community to what has happened and urge for continued military and financial support of Ukrainian people in our fight against evil invaders.”
Konstantin Gudauskas is a Lithuanian Jew, a citizen of Kazakhstan, an activist who has received political asylum in Ukraine, and lives in Bucha. After the Russian invasion begins, thanks to his Kazakh passport he is able to travel to the Russian occupied territories and evacuate civilians. As he is busy saving 203 people, Konstantin, observes firsthand the horrors of war and atrocities committed by the Russian troops – murders, robberies, rape. Among those rescued by Konstantin is the famous Ukrainian composer Ihor Poklad and his family. He is the author of hundreds of Ukrainian songs, music for films, cartoons, and musicals. He is the author of the popular song «Sila ptakha».
Oleksandr Shchur has written about a dozen TV series for the now famous Ukrainian production outfit Studio Kvartal 95, co-founded and run by Volodymyr Zelensky who, in 2019, was elected President of Ukraine.
