PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Filmmaker Roxy Toporowych has announced an Indiegogo fund-raiser for her project – “a Ukrainian Ethno-Indie Love Story” – titled “Julia Blue.” The lead character, Julia, refuses to speak in Russian.
The fund-raising campaign – with a goal of $45,000 – concludes at the end of August. In 18 days, the campaign has raised 15 percent of the goal at just under $7,000.
As Ms. Toporowych, a Parma, Ohio, native explained, “I left New York City in September 2014 on a Fulbright scholarship. It was a challenging move, but I chose to battle my nerves and culture shock and push forward. I started really listening, meeting and speaking with people from all over Ukraine, including volunteer soldiers touched by the Madian revolution and the current war with Russia. Cabbies, soldiers, farmers and hipsters – everyone had a story to tell.”
But Ms. Toporowych’s latest film project is not a documentary, she notes. “I decided to compile these stories and this research into a feature length script. I also decided I wanted to tell that story in a way that would reach people across borders, speaking to them emotionally. One year later, ‘Julia Blue’ was born.”
Ms. Toporowych, is writer, director and producer for “Julia Blue” with her own production company KinoRox (www.kinorox.com). She also has used her contacts in the film industry, her work with the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the filmmakers for the 2014 award-winning (Grand Jury Prize) documentary “Russian Woodpecker.”
Ms. Toporowych provides a synopsis of “Julia Blue”:
“A feisty hard-working 22-year-old student, Julia is confronted with the harsh realities of life in contemporary, war-torn Ukraine. Relentless with her studies, she wins a coveted scholarship to a university abroad. As Julia secretly prepares for a new world outside of Kyiv, she meets a young, edgy, soldier from Donetsk, known as English. Together, Julia and English navigate through contemporary Kyiv: a world of babushkas, volunteers, soldiers, hipsters, nationalists and VIPs. Ultimately, they choose to break away from the city, escaping to the Carpathian Mountains, where a new set of realities determine each of their fates. A character-driven drama, ‘Julia Blue’ will dive into the psyche of a determined 20-something and a damaged war hero. The story’s authenticity is highlighted by the richly detailed and captivating world of its unique location.”
In a post-Maidan Ukraine, Ms. Toporowych traveled to Poltava to see for herself where humanitarian aid supplies are sent on the ground to the ATO zone.
In speaking with The Weekly, Ms. Toporowych explained that the project would be filmed in Ukrainian, English and Russian, representing the linguistic reality on the ground. It has been amazing, she said, that artists are coming together to make this film. She has coordinated her efforts with Dmytro Iaroshenko of Dakh Center of Contemporary Arts in Kyiv.
“Ukraine’s war with Russia is an information war,” Ms. Toporowych explained. Thus far she has 62 donors on the Idiegogo page; she noted a need for a social media campaign director.
The film is set to begin filming in September, and Ms. Toporowych is currently in Ukraine for pre-production. Sashko Roshchyn is the cinematographer.
“This is a pioneering film endeavor,” Ms. Toporowych said, “and independent film is a foreign concept in Ukraine that is steadily growing based on volunteers.” KinoRox has been making Ukrainian and “Slavic-centric” films since 2004, and this is the company’s first independent film venture.
Readers can donate in amounts as little as $5, and receive thank-you gifts based on the donation amount, online at the Indiegogo page, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/julia-blue-a-ukrainian-ethno-indie-love-story. Readers can also stay updated on the film’s progress on the film’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JuliaBlueUkraine.