EXCLUSIVE: Actor-activist Liev Schreiber has joined the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Once Upon a Time in Ukraine as an executive producer.
The short film directed by Oscar nominee Betsy West (RBG) explores how Ukrainian children cope with the devastation and terror of war – finding poignant and often surprising ways to deal with traumatic experience. Ivanna, a gifted artist and storyteller who lives in the embattled Kherson region, spent 256 days in a cellar of her house, writing and illustrating tales of heroism of Ukrainian defenders. In Moshchun, 8-year-old Ruslan dreams of building a home to replace his family’s bombed-out dwelling and goes fishing in a small pond formed in the cavity of a missile strike.
Schreiber, who traces his roots to Ukraine on his mother’s side, co-founded BlueCheck Ukraine, a nonprofit that “identifies, vets, and fast-tracks urgent financial support to Ukrainian NGOs and aid initiatives providing life-saving and other critical humanitarian work on the front lines of Russia’s war on Ukraine.” He calls Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, “A moving and empowering tribute to the courage and creative spirit of Ukrainian children. Stunning scenes of life behind the frontlines ask us to look into the eyes of these beautiful children, consider the fight for a free Ukraine, and be moved to action.”
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Schreiber and André Singer directed Meeting Zelenskyy, a new feature documentary about the Ukrainian president who built a highly successful career as a comedic actor before he entered politics. Zelenskyy was elected Ukraine’s president in 2019 and then faced the ultimate test of leadership when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of his country in February 2022.
“Putin expected a quick and easy victory but he miscalculated – the comedy President turned out to be a skilled and determined adversary,” notes a description of Meeting Zelenskyy. “Suddenly, the world wanted to know more about this enigmatic man. This film answers those questions – unearthing his story from childhood under USSR domination to the heady days of show business stardom, always surrounded and supported by devoted friends, family and colleagues. Through an extended and personal in depth interview with actor-filmmaker Liev Schreiber we gain new insights into one of the most extraordinary characters of our age.”
Schreiber served as executive producer on the 2022 short documentary Ukrainians in Exile, and he also EP’d the 2024 feature documentary Rule of Two Walls, “a visceral and vital portrait of today’s Ukraine through the lens of artists.”
On Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, he joins fellow EPs Gretchen McGowan and Nick Quested. The film is produced by Earle Mack.
“Liev has been amazing,” West tells Deadline. “He has come on board as an executive producer of the film, which we’re thrilled about.” She noted Schreiber’s work establishing BlueCheck Ukraine and his documentary on President Zelenskyy. “He’s really been working so hard to support the Ukrainian people since this war broke out.”
Once Upon a Time in Ukraine played an exclusive engagement at IFC Center in New York. West is working with Cinetic on wider distribution of the film.
Along with Ivanna and Ruslan, the film focuses on Maksym, a 10-year-old boy from Bucha who plays piano and shines as a ballroom dancer – artistic pursuits that appear to distract him from buried trauma. His mother fears that Makysym and his older brother will one day have to take up arms in defense of Ukraine.
Miroslava, an 8-year-old girl with phenomenal gymnastic skills, is living in Dnipro with her mother. They fled Mariupol, one of the first cities to come under Russian attack. In the film, Miroslava recalls their desperate escape from the city.
“I just wanted to drive to freedom,” she says. “I never knew what war is at all. I’d never seen it… I didn’t even know the word ‘war.’”
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