KYIV – The Kyiv premiere of the award-winning Canadian feature documentary “Recovery Room” was held at Kino-Kliub, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy (KMA), with the film’s producer, Yurij Luhovy of Montreal, present.
A special guest was Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk; as well as Prof. Larysa Briukhovetska, senior lecturer and editor of Kino-Teatr; Volodoymyr Kistyanyk from the Kyiv bureau of the Ukrainian World Congress; Bohdan Kulych, chair of Ukrainian Canadian Congress Ukraine-Advisory Committee in Kyiv; Prof. Volodymyr Serhiychuk of Taras Shevchenko National University; historian Nina Lapchynska; composer Roman Luhovy, who won an award for best original music score for “Recovery Room”; Mike Yelchev, a cameraman during the Maidan who provided original film footage for the documentary; and filmmaker Istan Rozumnyj.
With a full house in attendance on March 9, Natalia Onyshchuk, head of Kino-Kliub, officially opened the evening and called upon producer Yurij Luhovy, who introduced the special guests. Mr. Luhovy called upon Ksenia Goroshchuk, participant in the medical missions, to read remarks sent by the film’s director, Adriana Luhovy, for the Kyiv premiere.
“Recovery Room” was filmed by Ms. Luhovy at the Main Clinical Military Hospital in Kyiv. Ms. Luhovy was invited to be part of Canada’s medical missions as official photographer. Noticing that photography alone would not capture the full story of the missions organized by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) to provide humanitarian aid, Ms. Luhovy began to film.
Serhii Nuzhnenko/Radio Svoboda
Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk at the premiere of “Recovery Room” in Kyiv.
“Recovery Room” is based on interviews with wounded Ukrainian soldiers and with Canadian and Ukrainian medical teams performing complex reconstructive surgical procedures on victims of the Maidan and soldiers injured in eastern Ukraine. Heading the Canadian Medical Mission was Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn; his Ukrainian counterpart was Dr. Oleh Fedirko. Present at the Kyiv premiere was Nazar Derzhylo, a young soldier wounded by an explosion and treated by the Canadian and Ukrainian medical teams, who is interviewed in the film.
A Ukrainian-language article about the Kyiv premiere by Radio Svoboda (available online at https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/29090476.html) is titled “I wanted their stories to be heard and never forgotten.”
Comments at the Kyiv premiere were positive. “Outstanding, heartwarming and truly informative film. As a veteran of the U.S. Navy (and physician), you successfully pulled together the right mix of the hell of war and the love and dignity of providing good medical care. Bravo!” stated Danylo Shmorhun, who was visiting Kyiv. “The film is incredibly optimistic in spite of the topic. If a country has such youth, then that country has a future. We greet you with the premiere in Kyiv!” Dr. Hennadij Boriak and Lilly Boriak noted.
A Ukrainian-language version of “Recovery Room” is being made. The documentary is under the patronage of the Ukrainian World Congress.
For information about “Recovery Room,” readers may visit the website www.recoveryroomthemovie.com or call 514-481-5871. The trailer for the film is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 1E3DR4aULmg. To arrange a showing of the documentary readers may contact [email protected].