The War Museum hosted a screening of documentary films by laureates of the Ruslan Hanushchak International Award – authors who document the war in its human dimension.
This is not a competition in the usual sense. There are no winners here – only laureates. There are voices that continue to be heard, and a vast body of material that must live on as testimony to the truth. The award was established in memory of cameraman Ruslan Hanushchak, who left his civilian job, joined the military, and continued filming at the front. He documented the war while exploring themes of memory, loss, and human dignity. He was killed on 11 January, 2025, during combat operations. For his contribution to the development of journalism and his civic courage, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit, 3rd class.
The award aims to support talented documentary filmmakers who capture our present, where the line between civilian life and frontline experience is extremely thin.
“The award and the establishment of the foundation became a response to loss and at the same time to the need to preserve memory. Memory is stronger than death,” noted the moderator of the event and founder of the award, Iryna Hanushchak-Forostian. She also emphasized that this year 118 applications were submitted, and each work is unique, making the selection of laureates particularly difficult.
The venue for the screening was not chosen by chance. The War Museum preserves the memory of Ruslan Hanushchak and is comprehensively engaged in preserving the memory of the russian-Ukrainian War. “For the Museum, it is important to work with memory in all its dimensions – historical, artistic, and human. Documentary cinema is part of the intangible cultural heritage that must be preserved so that memory lives on,” emphasized Deputy Director General of the War Museum Dmytro Hainetdinov.
During the screening, viewers were introduced to the stories of the laureates and the contexts in which their works were created.
Journalist Viktoriia Hnatiuk and video operator Mariia Shevchenko received the award in the “Light of the Future” nomination for a report from the settlement of Ternuvate in the Zaporizhzhia region. They walked 25 km both ways to show how Ukrainian defenders hold the line. The route became a real challenge: the group moved under the constant threat of enemy drone attacks. A symbolic hero of the piece was a dog that appeared out of nowhere and guided the journalists through dangerous open areas. It has now become part of the Ukraine Witness team.
Khrystyna Bablyak, Director of the Ruslan Hanushchak Foundation in Ukraine, emphasized the importance and danger of journalists’ work on the front line. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 128 journalists have been killed. The very fact of working under the risk to one’s life in order to document reality is a testament to professional courage.
The main award was received by Kostiantyn Melnykov, press officer of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo, for the film “Asylum. Kostiantynivka.” This work was presented in full during the screening at the Museum: a piercingly honest and sensitive narrative about life in a frontline city – residents’ daily choice to stay or leave, constant shelling, destruction, and the gradual adaptation to the abnormal reality of war.
The Ruslan Hanushchak Award is not only a tribute to memory but also an attempt to collect and preserve testimonies of the present time. It brings together those who document the war and those who reflect on it, transforming documentary footage into part of a shared memory that shapes the future.
