Reel Ukraine

Zorianna and Roxy talk with Irish filmmaker Gar O’Rourke about his Ukrainian film, Sanatorium, an observational documentary selected as Ireland’s official Oscar entry. Filmed in a Ukrainian health resort during Ruzzia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sanatorium captures daily life and routines, finding unexpected humor, quiet moments, and a reminder of a war that's still ongoing. They also discus...

🎙️ In this episode, hosts Roxy and Zorianna interview filmmaker Joe Hill and producer Stefanie Noll to unpack their documentary Match in a Haystack. 🎥 💃 Their feature documentary follows a contemporary dance troupe in Ukraine navigating life in a war zone, grappling with the role of art during wartime while preparing for their first performance since the Russian invasion. Joe and Stefanie share...

In this episode of Real Ukraine, hosts Zorianna Kit and Roxy Toporowych sit down with Academy Award®-nominated filmmakers Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo to discuss their documentary Armed With Only a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud. 🎥 The film chronicles the life, work, and tragic death of acclaimed journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud, who was the first American journalist killed wh...

Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko joins Zorianna and Roxy on Reel Ukraine for a powerful conversation about documenting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a filmmaker, frontline soldier, mother, and survivor of sexual violence in captivity. Picking up where Part One left off, this episode explores Alisa’s films We Will Not Fade Away and Traces. Together, the films examine Ukrainian teenagers growin...

Filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko joins Zorianna and Roxy for a deeply personal conversation about documenting war, memory, and motherhood in Ukraine. Known for her visually striking and intimate documentaries, Alisa reflects on how her 12-year journey from film student to mother to soldier and frontline documentarian has shaped her voice as a storyteller. In Part One, the conversation focuses on two of h...

Filmmaker Michael Fiore joins Roxy and Zorianna to discuss his documentary "Veselka," a portrait of the iconic Ukrainian restaurant in New York City and its deep roots in both the Ukrainian community and the city at large. What began as a film about a beloved East Village institution took on new urgency after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the restaurant became a gathering place, a...

What happens when a zoo becomes a war zone? Zorianna and Roxy speak with director Joshua Zeman about Checkpoint Zoo, a powerful documentary following Ukrainian volunteers on the outskirts of the city of Kharkiv who risk their lives to save more than 5,000 animals from a beloved zoo caught directly in the line of fire during ruzzia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As bombs fall on Kharkiv,...