Life of Ukrainian immigrants in Europe

Documentary Immigraniada about life of Ukrainians in European countries premiered in Odesa. The heroes of the picture are young people who left Ukraine on various reasons. Some of them went to obtain quality free education, others emigrated with their parents back in the childhood, and yet others are looking for prospects and higher living standards.

The film was made by four Chernivtsi filmmakers from the independent film studio Boroda Cinema. They visited Krakow, Munich, Prague, Milan, and Paris, where they worked with Ukrainian migrant workers. According to the director of the film Stanislav Puzdriak, it was not hard to find the heroes for the film: those are mostly their acquaintances. “We are not calling anyone to emigrate or not. Everyone should look at this question from various sides and think through their decision very thoroughly. I know a lot of young people whose aim is not to achieve something, but to run away from Ukraine. This purpose doesn’t seem very good to me,” Puzdriak says.

The filmmakers faced some difficulties. “We couldn’t open a visa for a long time, then we faced difficulties when we were crossing the border. When we came to shoot to Paris, my partner Vitalii Skyhar was fined for illegal shooting with quadrocopter. The equipment was confiscated and Vitalii spent a day in the local prison,” the director says.

Interestingly, the team shot the film without any support of the state or business. They funded Immigraniada themselves for the money earned from wedding shooting made by Boroda Cinema. For the first time the film was shown in Chernivtsi in early May. After that there were presentations in Warsaw and New York, and after Odesa the picture will be screened in Dubai and Krakow. According to Puzdriak, Ukrainian immigrants help to organize the screenings abroad. The director also promised that the film will be available for public on the Internet before the end of the year.

The heroes of the film name typical Ukrainian problems: corruption, instability, lack of prospects. They recall home with warmth and sadness, but they are not going to go back. However, Immigraniada shows a different type of Ukrainians, too. Like a photographer who could have stayed in Italy with his mother, but returned home and joined the army. Or a businessman who opened a shop of brand Ukrainian goods in his hometown Chernivtsi. These people are sure: changes in your country begin with you.

Odesa resident took a huge interest in Immigraniada. Most of the people in the crowded hall are of the same age as the heroes of the film. They asked Stanislav Puzdriak what European country he liked the most and whether he would like to stay abroad. But the young director plans to work in Ukraine and continue to shoot independent cinema. So, Boroda Cinema is going to make a film about Ukrainians in the US, but so far their visa application has been refused.