Beyond Bucha – World Premiere (Recap)

The world premiere of Beyond Bucha: Finding the Spirit in Ukraine, from the Churches to the Front was held on March 2nd to a packed house at in Jamestown, RI.

A huge thanks to the Jamestown Ukraine Relief Project (JURP) and the Friends of the Jamestown Library for sponsoring the premiere screening, which took place just days after the three-year anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bear Witness’ Alex Gamota, the film’s executive producer, was also on hand and gave a ringing endorsement of the three-film project, highlighting his organization’s support from the very beginning in March 2022.

​I was on hand to lead the Q&A afterward, which featured a live feed from Odesa with Sasha Pinchuk and his family, who had many friends in the audience. John Andrews, head of JURP, introduced the film and shared this review:

Steve Richards' film Beyond Bucha continues his travels through Ukraine in the third year of the Russian invasion, providing stunning footage of the resilience with which Ukrainians have woven civilian everyday normality around the anguish and  destruction of ongoing war. 

Of particular interest are the film's extended interviews with clergy on the question of religious freedom in Ukraine - a subject of major disinformation from Moscow. The Kremlin has made much of the Ukrainian government's detention of some clergy from Orthodox churches affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate on charges of collaboration. Steve's interviews with clergy - Orthodox, Catholic, evangelical, and charismatic - uniformly rebut the claim that this is an infringement on religious liberty, and point to Russians' regular and brutal mistreatment of their coreligionists in the occupied areas. In an especially poignant sequence, the pastor of a Baptist church in Kyiv asks his American fellow Baptists: why don't you listen to us? Why do you believe the Kremlin instead of your own brothers and sisters here in Ukraine?

​In all, Beyond Bucha offers an eye-opening pilgrimage through the cities of a country at war - where its citizens, and especially its Christian believers, find strength, consolation, resilience, and hope in the vigorous life of their faith  communities. 

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

As with all our screenings, which double as fundraisers for Ukraine, I was also happy to help raise funds for JURP’s work in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, JURP has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Ukrainian causes.
We are making the film available in the coming weeks for everyone to watch and share. Just visit the event page for a link to the film, pictures from the event, and more information.

The film continues to evolve as we edit and create additional versions. It is already available in two forms: the 75-minute director’s cut, which we screened at the event, and a new 57-minute version available online.

Our impact campaign is in the works as we plan a screening tour across the U.S. and Ukraine for the rest of the year.

​Want to help? Arrange a screening—either in person or virtually. For more information on hosting a screening for your group, click here.

For more information please go to the event page at theoeco.org/beyondbuchajamestown.html.