OUP makes two new documentaries

The Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP) is shooting two new documentaries — “Mariupol. Occupied” and “How to Survive when You are Being Killed”.

“Mariupol. Occupied” examines how the Ukrainian city of Mariupol lived in April-September 2022, during the Russian occupation. “How to Survive when You are Being Killed” tells the story of how strangers, neighbors in an apartment complex, spent 15 days in an abandoned house in occupied Gostomel. They were united by the only task — to survive.

“Mariupol. Occupied” will be the second film of the OUP’s series about Mariupol. The first is “Mariupol. Unlost Hope”, released in August 2022. It told about how the Russian occupation came to Mariupol.

Max Lytvynov, director of “Mariupol. Unlost hope” and “Mariupol. Occupied”: «The film consists of three parts: the entry of the Russian military; life during the occupation; changed mood of people. We will show different behavior of citydwellers, logic of collaborationists, and what did those who welcomed the “Russian peace” say now. Why did these people stay and how are they surviving? Like “Unlost Hope”, this film is a testimony, when ordinary people tell what has happened to them».

“How to Survive when You are Being Killed” is a metaphor of society during the war. In the spring of 2022, during the Russian occupation of Gostomel, 40 neighbors, who didn’t know each other before the war, tried to survive together in one abandoned house without water, heat, light, food, and mobile or internet communication. They are very different in age, occupation, social status and values and their common journey to life lasted 17 days. But this is a story with a happy end. The film also can be just a practical instruction — it will really help to survive in the extreme war conditions.

Yuliya Fedets, author of the idea and creative producer of the film “How to Survive when You are Being Killed”: “This documentary belongs to films that convince: reality is scarier than we can imagine. I admire all the film subjects. To survive in their conditions is a phenomenal success. They did due to themselves, their qualities, traits, decisions and actions. What did this group of people go through? How did the situation change them? What these people have learned about themselves and others. And, finally, what helped the group to stay alive. These are the questions we are looking for answers to — to understand how to survive when you are being killed.”

Producer of both films and co-founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Producers Volodymyr Borodyanskyi comments that the topics logically follow the war events in Ukraine. The first OUP films covered the war beginning, now the moviemakers attention has shifted to life with an armed enemy at your home who can kill you just because he wants to. This all is about human nature too, its heights and depths, about behavior, thoughts and feelings of people in an extreme state.

Both films are in the editing stage and are planned for release at the end of the year 2022.

Crew of the film “Mariupol. Occupied”
Idea — Tala Prystaetska
Director — Max Lytvynov
Journalist — Natalia Kruzhylina
Cameraman — Yuriy Smetanin
Producers — Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP), Volodymyr Borodyansky, Iryna Plakhotniuk

Crew of the film “How to Survive when You are Being Killed”
Idea and creative production — Yuliya Fedets
Executive producer — Ilona Shneider
Directors — Anton Shcherbakov, Kateryna Lysenko
Screenwriter — Victoria Mukhina
Cameraman — Dmytro Plyuta
Producers — Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP), Volodymyr Borodyansky, Viktor Mirsky