AFTERILOVAISK

A documentary multimedia project created to save and reconsider the significance of the events of August 2014 for the fighters, their families, and for all the citizens of Ukraine. From taking it as a tragedy to learning an important lesson.

WHY ILOVAISK?

The battle for Ilovaisk became one of the largest military operations in independent Ukraine and the turning point in the Ukrainian-Russian war. And at the same time – one of the greatest tragedies of the modern Ukrainian army. We cannot change history, but we can realize it, make conclusions, and live on using that experience.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

The authors of the project, Max Levin and Markiyan Lyseiko are war journalists who covered the events in Ilovaisk and, together with the military troops, left the encirclement by the so-called “green corridor”. Their motivation is more personal.

“The war has affected me personally: in October 2014, Viktor Gurnyak, my good friend, colleague, and volunteer of the Aidar Battalion was killed in a battle at the 31st checkpoint. There were guys in Ilovaisk that I became friends with, some of whom died or went missing. We still keep connections with many people who survived the battle. This story united us forever.
And now it is my inner obligation to tell about Ilovaisk survivors.

“AFTERILOVAISK” consists of first-hand stories. About motivation, patriotism, about the readiness to take responsibility for one’s family and homeland. The heroes of the project speak in different words about one thing they all have in common – indifference. ”

Max Levin, project manager, documentary photographer

The project team has a unique chronicle (photos, videos, testimonies) of events related to Ilovaisk: the formation of volunteer battalions in the spring and summer of 2014, participation volunteers and soldiers in the battles of the summer of 2014, the battle for Ilovaisk, the encirclement, and life after Ilovaisk.

The authors and members of the project team are direct participants of the Ilovaysk events – not only photographers but also volunteers and the military personnel.

The project manager, Oleksandr Hoshylyk, a volunteer of the Donbas Battalion in Ilovaisk, was a senior officer of the mortar battery and managed to get out of the encirclement.

Film director Larysa Artyugina is the author of movies about the participants of the war in eastern Ukraine: “How we became volunteers”, “Dad”.

“I have to make a documentary about the events in Ilovaisk not only as a film director but also as a citizen of Ukraine. At the time of these events, in the summer of 2014, I was actively involved in the Ukrainian liberation fight against the Russian invaders. I was documenting the life of military volunteers of the Donbas battalion and was supposed to be with them in Ilovaisk. But miraculously I did not get into this hell. Yet, my heart was shot along with our soldiers in the “green” corridor of death. And I have to make a movie about it. “

Larysa Artyugina, co-director of a documentary about Ilovaisk

COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT

• Site of multimedia stories AFTERILOVAISK.COM
• Documentary
• Photobook
• Presentations and discussions

SITE OF MULTIMEDIA STORIES AFTERILOVAISK.COM

Objective: create an online encyclopedia of documented pieces of evidence of participants.
For a deeper understanding, stories are presented in multimedia form (text, photos, videos, audio).
Language: Ukrainian and English.
Guiding question: “How have the people who went through the hell of Ilovaisk changed”?

DOCUMENTARY MOVIE

Objective: piece together personal stories, victories, and tragedies – from 2014 to the present day. In 90 minutes we will show how people who survived Ilovaisk have changed. Everything that will be left out of the frame, as well as more documentary evidence, will be available on the website AFTERILOVAISK.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK

Objectives: memorialization and transformation of the “Ilovaysk page” into a fact of history.
Form: 30 stories about the heroes of the project with original photos.
Language: Ukrainian and English.

PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

Objective: initiate a wide public and expert discussions on Ilovaisk through discussion of testimonies and personal stories of participants, photo exhibitions, and short video stories.
To overcome the protective mechanism of Ukrainians in the perception of Ilovaisk and help turn a tragic story into an important experience.

HOW CAN YOU HELP IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT?

• Funding for the project
• Volunteer work (text editing, layout, programming, design, PR, management, etc.)
• Resource support (printing house, equipment for filming a documentary, a car for expeditions, etc.)