The short film "Manifesto of the Strong"

Every day, our defenders, who returned from the front with amputated limbs, have to overcome many difficulties in their lives, which are invisible to us, civilians. Struggle with phantom pains, non-acceptance of themselves with a severe injury, and social detachment from people with disabilities. And instead of feeling respected for defending the independence of the state, veterans often feel forgotten.

This big social issue of our time formed the basis of the short video "Manifesto of the Strong", which the Luminance Production team worked on for almost a year.

Denys Stehnii, the film director of "Manifesto of the Strong", shares his thoughts: "More than a year ago, I began to pay attention to military personnel returning from the front. How big is the gap between us in experience, and worldview! I didn't know how to talk to them or ask without offending them, so I intuitively distanced myself. But I clearly saw in the servicemen’s eyes, the desire to share their fears and worries, the desire to be heard. The worst thing is the fear of being forgotten because of an injury.” 

In April last year, the Luminance Production team decided to shoot a video and, in search of the main character, met Oleksandr Chaika, one of the first participants in the prosthetics and rehabilitation program by the FFU foundation. Before the war, Sasha trained in gymnastics, so he had good physical condition. Strongly motivated and with a high-tech prosthesis, he returned to his profession and continued to lead an active lifestyle. Oleksandr opened his own gymnastics school for children, where he teaches 6 hours a day on his own. Also, Sasha got married and became a father for the first time. 
 

Antonina Sotnykova, the Executive Producer of the short film, recalls:

"We were impressed by Sasha's openness and willingness to share his story. Talking with the hero gave us confidence that we could convey what our defenders with amputations feel. Our task was simply to translate emotions into the language of cinema and shoot a video."

Antonina also says that when she along with the team calculated the cost of filming, the amount turned out to be unaffordable. Then Antonina started to tell about the project to her acquaintances and saw a willingness of the people to support the project. Thus, the required amount was collected in about half a year.

Among the main partners, thanks to which the creation of the "Manifesto of the Strong" became possible, is the Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Orisil-Pharm. The co-founder of the company, Natalia Kishchak, tells why she decided to support the project:

"First of all, our engagement is an opportunity to show our respect for the defenders. They are extremely strong people who overcame their fear of opening up and trusting the project. We immediately decided to support the filming of such an important social video. After all, this is an opportunity to reach out to society and help our veterans return to full-fledged civilian life. Our super goal is to convince our defenders that they are not alone."

Also, the initiative was supported by the Gotovo. Remont repair company, ADONIS medical center, Labrador Media post-production studio, PX Production studio, Cavemen Records sound recording studio, Planeta auditor group, Logos tutoring center, and other companies. And also more than 150 benefactors who donated to the project. 

You can watch the short film "Manifesto of the Strong" on the website, which was specially launched by the team of our foundation.

We thank the caring people and businesses who supported the idea of the "Manifesto of the Strong" creation. Many thanks to the entire Luminance Production team for working on a video that raises important topics and takes a confident step toward creating a barrier-free and empathetic environment where every veteran can live a full-fledged life!

Special thanks to Oleksandr Chaika for sharing his story with the world and playing the main role in "Manifesto of the Strong"! And also to the heroes Bohdan Novarchuk, Yurii Haiovyk, Andrii Kuzmenko, Serhii Khrapko, and Serhii Dudyk, who participated in the filming process.