EDMONTON, Alberta – The Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex in Edmonton recently hosted a screening of Adriana Luhovy’s feature documentary film, “Recovery Room.” The event was sponsored by a number of community organizations: the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association (UCPBA), Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Alberta Provincial Council and Edmonton Branch), League of Ukrainian Canadians, Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood, Ukrainian National Federation and the Alberta Foundation for Ukrainian Education Society.
Ms. Luhovy is a native of Montreal, where she completed communication studies at Concordia University. She continued specialized studies in digital design at the Vancouver Film School and the School of Visual Arts in New York. She was employed by the Advancing Human Rights NGO in New York City and her photography has been published in various national and international publications. “Recovery Room” is her first feature documentary film.
The event, held on November 9, 2017, commenced with Alann Nazarevich, vice-president of the UCPBA, introducing the director and sharing his own experience viewing the film when it was recently presented in Lviv, a city with a militarized feeling during the current war in Ukraine.
Ms. Luhovy addressed the audience, explaining how she came to the present project. With previous experience with the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund and Help Us Help the Children initiatives dedicated to helping children affected by the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster and improving the quality of life in Ukrainian orphanages, she volunteered to act as official photographer with a Canadian medical mission to Ukraine sponsored by the Canada Ukraine Foundation. The mission was one of several designed to bring volunteer Canadian medical experts to the aid of casualties from Ukraine’s war with Russia.
After witnessing the life-changing work of the mission, Ms. Luhovy decided that still photographs alone could not adequately tell that story, and she committed to developing a feature documentary film. She gave up her job in New York City and embarked on her current challenge full time, in order to focus on Russia’s war on Ukrainian sovereignty and the heavy human price being paid in that fight.
Ms. Luhovy thanked the project’s various community funding sources such as the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko and the Canada Ukraine Foundation, and acknowledged mission participants who had volunteered from Edmonton. She paid special thanks to her family to whom she reached out for support in her ever expanding project. Adriana’s mother, Zorianna Hrycenko, is the film’s producer, while her father, accomplished film editor and director Yurij Luhovy, is the film’s producer and editor.
The attentive audience was absorbed in complete silence during the film’s entire 75-minute duration. The film covers events leading up to the present war in eastern Ukraine, reviewing the history of the Maidan Revolution of Dignity of 2014, the capitulation of President Viktor Yanukovych, the subsequent seizure of Crimea by Russia and the commencement of Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The gripping footage from the war was supplied by Ukrainian combatants themselves who sent the filmmaker hard drives full of video and visual material from the frontlines.
What emerges is a portrait of Ukraine’s desperate and heroic fight against great odds, a fight grounded in the new spirit of patriotic volunteerism that has gripped the country. The fate of Ukraine rests with a thin line of ill-equipped volunteers and army units who are paying an immense price for safeguarding the future of their country. The face of Ukraine’s current struggle for freedom is reflected in the disfigured bodies of its soldiers. It is these scarred but unbroken heroes of Ukraine’s latest war of Independence that volunteer Canadian medical specialists are pledged to mending.
The film focuses on a number of recovery stories in which the Canadian medical mission tasks itself with reconstructing shattered Ukrainian combatants, who in spite of their injuries are eager to resume their fight for Ukraine. This mission of medical mercy has had life-changing impacts on both sides of the effort. The commitment of Ukraine’s citizen soldiers is matched by the generosity of Canadian medical professionals whose skills are offered in support of Ukraine’s fight for survival. “Recovery Room” is a sobering yet inspiring film that underscores Ukraine’s precarious position and the important support offered to Ukraine from Ukrainian Canadians and Canadians in general both through individual and government support.
Upon the conclusion of the film, the appreciative audience greeted the director with applause and questions. Director Luhovy emphasized that there are continuing costs connected with the ongoing development and promotion of the film. She plans to show “Recovery Room” at film festivals around the globe. Her hope is that audiences everywhere will understand two simple messages: There is a war going on in Ukraine, and individuals can make a huge difference in determining the outcome of that war.
Ilia Simcisin, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association, concluded the evening by congratulating the director on her important project and inviting attendees to enjoy coffee and pastry during further discussions with the director. All proceeds from the evening were contributed to the ongoing development of the project.
Those interested in learning more about the “Recovery Room” project are encouraged to visit the website www.recoveryroomthemovie.com. Contributions can be forwarded to MML Inc. at 2330 Ave. Beaconsfield, Montreal QC, H4A 2G8 or can be made through the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko at 202-952 Main St., Winnipeg, MB R2W 3P4.