CMU School of Drama


Friday, February 25, 2022

Ukrainian Film Producer Who Fled Kyiv Fears She’ll Never Return Home: ‘Nobody Knows What’s Next’

www.thewrap.com: Darya Bassel, a Ukrainian film producer and a programmer with the country’s largest documentary film festival, fears she may have left her home in Kyiv for the last time after fleeing the city earlier on Thursday, hours after Russia invaded the country.

3 comments:

Maureen Pace said...

This is heartbreaking. I know a lot of us have been watching and reading the news, keeping tabs on the headlines about Ukraine. I don’t even think I’ve really fully been able to wrap my head around the magnitude of the situation: I’m still trying to learn as much as I can. Darya Bassel fled her home with her husband and children when the attacks from Russia began, and is hoping to stay in the country. I think this article has made me think some more about my privilege; I have never been worried about the safety of my home, or my family like that. I have never been worried about being bombed, or my loved ones being in that kind of danger. I hope for safety for all Ukrainians, and hope (maybe wishful thinking here) that Russian attacks are stopped very soon. Bassel talked about the film industry, which she is a part of, and how that has (of course) taken a back burner, as she is worried about where her family is going next, and what will happen to them.

Sophie Howard said...

I could never imagine leaving my home in the way the Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes in the wake of Russia’s invasion. I think it is so terrifying to think that the moment you leave your home could be the last moment that you see your home ever again. It’s also so terrible that these artists have to endure this crisis knowing that they may never be able to see their work come to fruition in the festival that they are working on. Artists are so important in times of crisis because they show the world how important crises are and how important it is to see global crises from a larger perspective. This whole war is so terrifying on a global scale that the world really needs to make sure that everyone understands how important this is. The global perspective is so important for every individual because that understanding is how we mitigate those kinds of disasters.

Gaby F said...

I think like many of us, I was just scrolling through my phone when I started to see the posts talking about Russia invading Ukraine and declaring war just a few nights ago. It still feels unreal that we are just sitting, watching this whole thing unfold in front of us and knowing that there is only so much you can do. My heart breaks for everyone who has had to flee their homes and experience the immediate effects of war. It takes an incredible amount of resilience to wake up every day and hope that it gets better. I’m sure we can all relate to the feeling of working on something and for circumstances out of our hands having to walk away, not knowing if we will be able to look back on it. The difference in extent is massive of course, but it is something we can all sympathize with.