YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine gala fundraiser
On March 29, the creativity and resilience of the Ukrainian people will be showcased in YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine, an evening in support of humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.
Filmmaker Khrystyna Syvolap
The centrepiece of the evening is a special screening of Viddana, Ukrainian filmmaker Khrystyna Syvolap’s sweeping historical drama based on the novel Felix Austria by Sofia Andrukhovych. Syvolap – who directed two dozen episodes of television in Ukraine and was named as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 Ukrainians Under 30 – fled Ukraine shortly after Russia invaded on February 24, 2022. She has lived in Vancouver since spring 2022, one of the millions of Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war. (Learn more about Khrystyna’s journey in this 2022 episode of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast entitled Episode 227: Ukrainian filmmaker Khrystyna Syvolap shares her refugee story).
This second edition of YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine will also include a musical performance by Ukrainian folk singer Olesia Shewchuk, craft items for sale, and a post-screening reception featuring Ukrainian food. The evening will be hosted by Ukrainian Canadian actor Adrian Petriw (The Dragon Prince) and podcaster Sabrina Rani Furminger (host and executive producer of the YVR Screen Scene Podcast, and herself Ukrainian and South Asian Canadian). To date, YVR Screen Scene has raised more than $41,000 for Ukrainian humanitarian relief.
All money raised from YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine ticket sales will benefit rehabilitation therapy programs for the children of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war. The therapy programs (which include intensive stabilization, art therapy, and talk therapy) are operated by the Ukrainian Canadian Advocacy Group, a non-profit based in the Lower Mainland that was co-founded by Petriw and Olga Prodan.
YVR Screen Scene is also hosting an online auction featuring rare collectibles donated by members of Vancouver’s film and television community, as well as original works of art created by artists in Ukraine. The online auction will run on the Givergy charity auction platform from March 27 to April 7.
YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine takes place on Wednesday, March 29 at 6:30 PM at VIFF Centre (1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver). Doors open at 6:00 PM. Tickets are $50 and are available at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/yvr-screen-scene-for-ukraine-tickets-551507131677
This is a 19+ event.
YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine is presented by YVR Screen Scene with generous support from VIFF Vancity Theatre and Pender PR.
