SCREENINGS
Screen Back to Bucha for Your Group
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We are taking our uplifting film about Ukraine’s Spirit across America to raise awareness, entertain, and inspire audiences - all while raising funds for Ukraine.
For the Deck click here. |
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Steve Richards and friends at the Trek to Bucha premiere at Viktoria Park Hotel in Bucha, February 5, 2023
All screenings are hosted by the film's director Steve Richards. Screenings can take place at churches, community centers, film festivals, universities and partner sponsored events both in person and virtually. So, if you have a group that wants to be entertained, informed, and inspired – we'd love to welcome you to the tour!
These are donation driven events. Which means that while there is no charge to attend, we do welcome donations to cover our costs for the events and the film. We also share half of a screening's net proceeds (after food, travel, venue costs, etc.) with foundations and charities that support Ukraine. So, everyone that donates supports the film and Ukraine directly! And the film's interviewees largely speak English making it ideal for American audiences.
These are donation driven events. Which means that while there is no charge to attend, we do welcome donations to cover our costs for the events and the film. We also share half of a screening's net proceeds (after food, travel, venue costs, etc.) with foundations and charities that support Ukraine. So, everyone that donates supports the film and Ukraine directly! And the film's interviewees largely speak English making it ideal for American audiences.
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Trailer
Check out the trailer by clicking here! |
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How it Works
What’s required of your group? Basically, just screening facilities (for in-person events), and promotional assistance. Refreshments are optional. Don’t have a screen? A/V equipment can be arranged. So, make it an event and invite the broader community. Here’s all that’s necessary:
Virtual Guests from Ukraine
We are very fortunate to be able to offer the participation of some of the film's "stars" virtually from Ukraine if the screenings are held early enough in the day (Kyiv is six hours ahead). This includes clergy, mothers, students, and others from the film which you get a glimpse of in the trailer.
Virtual Screenings
We love events in person but it's not always practical to bring a large group together. It can also be more economical and time efficient to screen the film virtually. So, we will also be holding virtual screenings, complete with Q&A, online fundraising, and optional livestreams of the event. The option is yours, in person or online!
What’s required of your group? Basically, just screening facilities (for in-person events), and promotional assistance. Refreshments are optional. Don’t have a screen? A/V equipment can be arranged. So, make it an event and invite the broader community. Here’s all that’s necessary:
- Set a date
- Print invites and post on social media
- Send a few emails
- Have a great event!
- 50% of net proceeds go to a Ukrainian support organization(s) you choose.
Virtual Guests from Ukraine
We are very fortunate to be able to offer the participation of some of the film's "stars" virtually from Ukraine if the screenings are held early enough in the day (Kyiv is six hours ahead). This includes clergy, mothers, students, and others from the film which you get a glimpse of in the trailer.
Virtual Screenings
We love events in person but it's not always practical to bring a large group together. It can also be more economical and time efficient to screen the film virtually. So, we will also be holding virtual screenings, complete with Q&A, online fundraising, and optional livestreams of the event. The option is yours, in person or online!
Notable Screenings
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Yale University - November 20, 2024
This event held special significance for director Steve Richards, both as a former Yale Divinity School student and in response to the invitation from the students at the Ukraine House at Yale. Richards had just returned from a five-week filming journey for the Beyond Bucha Production Tour traveling through Warsaw, Kyiv, Bucha, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Vinnytsia, and back. |
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Kyiv Premiere - October 19, 2024
We held Back to Bucha's Kyiv premiere and fundraiser for the NeboKray kindergarten in Kyiv featured in the film. For more click here. Thanks to all that participated in this wonderful event at the Hotel Ukraine. |
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Dedham, MA - September 14, 2024
We had a wonderful screening in Dedham, a historic town southwest of Boston. This screening also included Q&A and a prayer from The Very Rev. Archpriest Yaroslav Nalysnyk, MD from Christ the King Ukranian Church in Jamaica Plain. Additionally, Ukranian perogies (known as varenyky) were served. |
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Naples, FL - August 24, 2024
In celebration of Ukraine’s 33rd Independence Day, the TheoEco Institute and the Ukraine Defense Support were proud to present the Southwest Florida premiere of “Back to Bucha – Finding the Spirit in Ukraine” as part of the region’s Ukrainian Independence Day events. |
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Miami-Dade, FL - March 16, 2024
We had a wonderful Miami-Dade premiere at Sunset Chapel on March 16th which included a tremendous performance by the Ukrainian Dancers of Miami who are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year! The dancers epitomize so much of what Ukrainians are all about. Family, spirit, home, love of country, they remind us of just how much our friends in Ukraine are just like us. We also raised funds for the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). |
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Newport, RI - February 26, 2024 -
We had two excellent screenings in Rhode Island in Jamestown at the Jamestown Arts Center and in Newport at the Newport Public Library. The Jamestown Ukraine Relief Project and the Aquidneck Ukraine Relief Project shared in the donations to support their excellent work for Ukraine. |
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Ukraine Premiere - Bucha, Ukraine - January 5th, 2024
To launch the winter impact campaign, director Steve Richards went back to Ukraine on Christmas Day 2023 to screen the film for the film’s stars as they enter another winter with a fragile energy grid sure to be targeted. This was also a virtual screening/fundraiser for those outside Ukraine. |
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Florida Premiere - Lake Worth, FL - December 15th - 17th.
A weekend of screenings began with Back to Bucha’s Florida Premiere. |
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Lancaster, PA – Tuesday, October 24th at 7:00 PM EDT
The Lancaster screening at Grandview Church was a wonderful event that shows the level of support Ukraine enjoys even with a game-7 by the beloved Phillies competing with the Q&A session. Proceeds from the event went to the Ukraine War Refugee Aid Fund, an aid project that is supported by Bethany Slavic Church in Ephrata. https://www.bethanyslavic.org/pages/ukraine-aid-fund. |
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Boston, MA – Sunday, October 1st at 12:30 PM EDT
Our long-awaited screening at the St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Jamaica Plain was the first Orthodox Church to screen the film. We were also honored that Sasha Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize, conducted the Q&A after the film. Additionally, Liubimyr Janov, the head of Bucha’s Youth Council and featured in the film, joined us live from Ukraine via Zoom. We were once again very fortunate that the film’s soundtrack composer Valeriia Vovk also performed. 50% of the net proceeds from the film are going to Ya Buchanec, a Bucha based non-profit. |
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Claremont, NH – Saturday, September 30th at 4:00 PM
The tour began at the beautiful Claremont Opera House on a very big screen at the “Stand With Ukraine” event put together by the Sugar River Rotary. We premiered the new 30-minute version which really gets to the essence of the film – moms and kids coming back home. The film’s soundtrack composer Valeriia Vovk also performed. |
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Austin, TX - Friday, July 14th at 5:00 PM
The Texas premiere was held on Friday, July 14th at the Lake Travis Community Library. |
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Back to Bucha's 1-Hour Version Premiered in Huntsville on June 4th.
"Our family just viewed the Alabama premiere of Back to Bucha at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We loved the documentary and we are thankful that Steve Richards found the time to visit our campus and share his artful creation with us. The documentary was powerful and educational, from a perspective that only a boots on the ground approach can provide. I recommend this documentary to Ukrainians, American-Ukrainians, and Americans who wish to walk in the streets of Bucha, Kyiv, and Lviv and get an insightful discussion with the Ukrainians impacted by this war. I can recommend this film to all ages of audience, the context was not graphic, but rather an insight into personal, religious, family challenges." - Tony Taylor, Huntsville, AL
Back to Bucha Premiered in Boston on Sunday April 30, 2023
What we see in the film...
Like the USA Ukraine is a largely Christian nation (Ukrainian Orthodox mostly with a large segment of Ukrainian Greek Catholics), though all the major religions are represented (President Zelensky is Jewish, for instance). Unlike the USA there are relatively few Protestants, though I did find a Charismatic church forced online by the war, a Lutheran church with a lady pastor in Kyiv, even a Presbyterian minister from Dallas leading a Reformed congregation in Lviv!
All in all, though Ukrainian Christians see the world very much in unity when it comes to the war. The Ukrainian Orthodox community has broken with the Russian Orthodox church. Ukraine is an ecumenical laboratory as described to me by Father Roman Nebozhuk, a priest at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Kyiv. We get a glimpse of him in the trailer where we also meet his daughter Andriana who gives us a tour of a Kyiv Kindergarten and its bomb shelter.
Ukraine is a nation much like the USA in terms of the practical nature of Christendom that thrives there. Like the USA most were raised Christian. Also, like Americans most don’t go to church regularly though many do. I definitely attended some packed services while I was there.
What I was most struck by were the moms I encountered talking about God and how He is looking out for them. Women are the biggest difference between now and last Spring. They are back. Why? Because they want to raise their kids in their own homes in their own country. It is safe enough except for those on the front lines, notwithstanding the ongoing missile attacks. Children go to school; grocery stores are stocked; shops are open. You can see a movie, get your hair done, and go to restaurants. Rebuilding has begun – especially noticeable in Bucha.
All in all, Back to Bucha is a hopeful and inspiring film that provides an insight into the Christians and broader spirituality of its citizens with the backdrop of the ongoing war's realities.
For more go to the Director's Statement by clicking here.
Like the USA Ukraine is a largely Christian nation (Ukrainian Orthodox mostly with a large segment of Ukrainian Greek Catholics), though all the major religions are represented (President Zelensky is Jewish, for instance). Unlike the USA there are relatively few Protestants, though I did find a Charismatic church forced online by the war, a Lutheran church with a lady pastor in Kyiv, even a Presbyterian minister from Dallas leading a Reformed congregation in Lviv!
All in all, though Ukrainian Christians see the world very much in unity when it comes to the war. The Ukrainian Orthodox community has broken with the Russian Orthodox church. Ukraine is an ecumenical laboratory as described to me by Father Roman Nebozhuk, a priest at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Kyiv. We get a glimpse of him in the trailer where we also meet his daughter Andriana who gives us a tour of a Kyiv Kindergarten and its bomb shelter.
Ukraine is a nation much like the USA in terms of the practical nature of Christendom that thrives there. Like the USA most were raised Christian. Also, like Americans most don’t go to church regularly though many do. I definitely attended some packed services while I was there.
What I was most struck by were the moms I encountered talking about God and how He is looking out for them. Women are the biggest difference between now and last Spring. They are back. Why? Because they want to raise their kids in their own homes in their own country. It is safe enough except for those on the front lines, notwithstanding the ongoing missile attacks. Children go to school; grocery stores are stocked; shops are open. You can see a movie, get your hair done, and go to restaurants. Rebuilding has begun – especially noticeable in Bucha.
All in all, Back to Bucha is a hopeful and inspiring film that provides an insight into the Christians and broader spirituality of its citizens with the backdrop of the ongoing war's realities.
For more go to the Director's Statement by clicking here.
"Back to Bucha is a snapshot of Ukraine's resilience at the most human level: lives, livelihoods, and homes being rebuilt, religious faiths of all types being tested and strengthened, families, including with children, adjusting to the new..."normal." - Alex Gamota, President, Bear Witness
Our Partners
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Ukrainian Catholic University
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In every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance. - Phillis Wheatley - 1774