The Odesa Summer House (Part 2)

This past summer marked the beginning of our Beyond Bucha release. As we move into the winter and spring of 2026, our focus turns to sharing it more widely. Alongside that effort, we’re releasing a short video about my June 2025 trip to Odesa—to visit Sasha and Viktoriia Pinchuk and to premiere the film in Ukraine.

The story opens aboard a crowded bus heading south from Kyiv—my backup plan after every train seat sold out. Soon after, we’re greeted by a small surprise in the garden—a curious hedgehog making its rounds.

Next, we reconnect with Sasha and the Sunrise Flute Ensemble—familiar faces from the Odesa segment of Beyond Bucha—as they take the stage at the film’s premiere inside the historic Cossacks Museum.

Odesa remains, in many ways, a front-line city—home to Ukraine’s navy and key shipping facilities, roughly 400 kilometers
northwest of occupied Crimea across the Black Sea. As a result, it has endured relentless drone and missile strikes over the past year.

But this video isn’t about the destruction—it’s about life in between the sirens. Much of it is told from the vantage point of the Pinchuks’ country home, a refuge outside the city where they can escape the constant threat of bombardment. They bought it mainly for Sasha, to give him peace and safety as he continues to recover from a brain injury caused by a nearby missile blast that sent a shock wave through his neighborhood.

We find Viktoriia at the grill, turning skewers of pork destined to become both dinner and several days’ worth of meals. Between the sizzle and laughter, she talks about the difference between life at the summer house and their condo in town.

But someone is missing. The man of the house—a career naval officer—is on the front line. His absence is deeply felt, a quiet reminder of the sacrifices behind every Ukrainian soldier’s family’s resilience.

Next, we step into the garden—lush, sprawling, and ambitious. I’ve never seen two “non-gardeners” create such a thriving patch of paradise. It’s both sanctuary and statement: life goes on, and it’s beautiful.

We return briefly to the Odesa premiere, where outside the museum Sasha and the curator recall how a recent drone strike shattered the windows and brought down part of the roof. Later, we visit Sasha’s rehab clinic, which was also hit earlier in the summer.

Still in his teens, his developing brain is healing from trauma few could comprehend. We join him during a rehab pool session on the outskirts of Odesa—hope floating just beneath the surface.

We then pass the once-grand Hotel Bristol, which made headlines after a missile strike gutted it. From the street, the façade still stands tall, but the missing roof tells a different story.

Back in the garden, I try to help by picking cherries—so many cherries!—before we head to one of Odesa’s stunning public parks. There, amid fountains, flowerbeds, cafés, and children’s laughter, Sasha sits for a caricature. The artist’s quick lines capture not just his face, but his spirit—cheerful, brave, and unbowed.

​We are now filming another documentary that will pick up the Pinchuks’ story here in New England. The next time we see them, it will be far from the Black Sea—on the shores of Rhode Island.