TORONTO – The award-winning documentary “Recovery Room,” directed by Adriana Luhovy, received a standing ovation at its Toronto premiere organized and sponsored by BCU Foundation (Buduchnist Credit Union). Over 300 attended the screening at Old Mill Guildhall on March 22. Among special guests was Andriy Veselovsky, consul general of Ukraine to Toronto.
Opening welcome remarks given by the evening’s master of ceremonies Ivanna Baran-Purkiss, director of corporate communications at BCU. She called upon Roman Medyk, chair of the BCU Foundation’s board of directors, who outlined the work of the foundation aimed at promoting and supporting Ukrainian Canadian projects and increasing awareness of Ukrainian Canadians in Canadian society.
Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn, head of the Canadian humanitarian medical mission to Ukraine organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF), spoke next. He mentioned the great contribution that Ms. Luhovy’s documentary is making in telling the mission’s story. He gave an overview of the work done by CUF and its president, Victor Hetmanczuk, thanking all the medical volunteers who dedicated their time on the medical missions. With many of the volunteers present at film premiere, Dr. Antonyshyn asked the medical professionals in the audience, with whom Ms. Luhovy worked, to stand; they were acknowledged with a round of applause.
Oksana Kuzyshyn, president of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women, spoke about the upcoming medical mission to Odesa.
Next was a special guest, Sylvie Monette of KPMG-Montreal, who, through a chance acquaintance and continued friendship with Ms. Luhovy, closely followed her efforts in making the documentary. Ms. Monette, who appears in the film, travelled with the film’s director to Ukraine to see first hand the Maidan, meet the soldiers and learn about the story. Ms. Monette made a surprise announcement: Ms. Luhovy was to be presented the “One Woman Fearless” award by Concordia University at the Montreal Women’s Summit on April 21. The award recognizes a woman living fearlessly, “using her gifts to serve or inspire others.”
After presenting Ms. Luhovy’s short biography and mentioning the 11 international awards her documentary has received, Ms. Baran-Purkiss called on the director to speak. Ms . Adriana Luhovy thanked all present and spoke about giving back to the community and her years of volunteer work as a student with orphan children in Ukraine for Help Us Help the Children. While in New York, having worked for a human rights organization, Ms. Luhovy said she received an invitation from the Canada Ukraine Foundation to join the medical mission as its photographer, which resulted in her decision to film the mission in order to ensure that the story of the ongoing war, its impact and the humanitarian efforts was documented.
Ms. Luhovy also shared her personal story, overcoming inner hurdles, having been emotionally affected by doing interviews, capturing stories of the wounded soldiers and being in the operating room at the Kyiv Main Military Clinical Hospital while filming. She also shared, for the first time, how as a student she had lived through the horrors of the Montreal Dawson College shooting in 2006, fleeing for her life with the shooter just above her in the college atrium. She said flashbacks of both the college shooting and the emotional effect of documenting the stories of the wounded soldiers and medical personnel in Kyiv, still affect her.
Ms. Luhovy thanked BCU Foundation for its generous support of this film project from its early beginnings, as well as the Shevchenko Foundation and many community members; without that support, she said, the film could not be made. She mentioned that the film was a two-and-a-half-year team effort, thanking producer-editor Yurij Luhovy, producer Zorianna Hrycenko and script editor Oksana Rozumna.
During the film screening, the audience sat motionless, amid laughter and tears.
The film was accompanied by an exhibit of over 20 of Ms. Luhovy’s photographs of the CUF medical missions, brought to Toronto from Montreal by the BCU Foundation. A reception followed.
For information about “Recovery Room,” readers may visit www.recoveryroomthemovie.com or call 514-481-5871. To arrange a screening contact [email protected].