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UKRAINIAN DANCE MOVIE TRT:18:46 AFI DWW+ Fellowship 2024 SYNOPSIS: After an audition goes awry, a professional Ukrainian-American folk dancer, whose career was upended by war, tries to find a new sense of meaning by teaching at her spirited fathers folk dancing school in Hollywood. With his own major life change just around the corner, it is up to father and daughter to decide if the legacy of the school will live on as they find the power to perform one last dance. written & directed by ROXY TOPOROWYCH (JULIA BLUE) written and produced by PIETRO LORINO, JR (Maestro, West Side Story) produced by DIANA DEKAJLO (Severance, Queens Gambit) starring KAYLA RADOMSKI (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, upcoming Michael Jackson biopic) ZORAN RADANOVICH (The Americans) cinematography by HILDA MERCADO, AMC (A Friend of the Family) edited by BEN KIM (Linsanity, Julia Blue) choreography by STEFAN CALKA (Sacramento Ballet, Capital Dance Project) music by ALEX BROWN CHURCH ( Sea Wolf) additional music by GOGOL BORDELLO, OKEAN ELZY Director Statement: Ukrainian Dance Movie is directly inspired by my personal experiences as a Ukrainian-American storyteller and activist. It's a film about my community, featuring family and folk dance and tackling themes of war, legacy and home, told from within the Ukrainian-American diaspora. An all-ages story, with humor, hope and sparks of magic, it was intended to be a kind of fable. The goal was to have the film leave audiences feeling inspired and uplifted, while also touching on the romanticized view that Mads/Pops has. War is a vile and ugly reality, and no one really knows the best way to "help" I wanted to talk about this. I also wanted younger audiences to have access to a different kind of Ukrainian film. Collaborating with choreographers, dancers, and local community members, we shot in 3.5 days at the Ukrainian Culture Center of Los Angeles, featuring dancers of 5 Ukrainian folk dance troupes and refugee children from Ukraine. I was lucky to have an incredible team, including producers Diana Dekajlo (Severance, Queens Gambit) and Pietro Lorino, Jr (Maestro, Gilded Age, West Side Story) as well as cinematographer Hilda Mercado (A Friend of the Family). Made as part of the AFI DWW+ fellowship