A documentary film about the tragedy that befell the residents of the Kherson region as a result of the explosion of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant by the russian occupiers
The focus of the film is the story of the outstanding engineer, creator of the Antonivsky Bridge project in Kherson, Opanas Dermenzhi, and his wife, Mariia. After the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric station by the occupiers, the couple found themselves in the epicenter of a humanitarian catastrophe in the town of Oleshky. Serhii Zeynalov, their grandson, went to save his grandfather and grandmother.
At the same time, the filmmakers showed the fates of residents who lost their homes and the heroic rescuers and military personnel who helped people survive the disaster.
The screening was followed by a conversation with the film’s creators and protagonists. According to the director, Maksym Khotilenko, the idea to create a film about helping a couple living in the occupied territory arose even before the flooding. Eventually, when the disaster struck, he and Serhii Zeynalov went to rescue Opanas Dermenzhi and his wife, Mariia.
Oleksandr Zeynalov, another grandson of the couple, said that his grandfather and grandmother stayed in occupation for 532 days, sometimes with a lack of food and being sick, but always kept calm and courageous.
Ihor Sudakov, the film operator, recalled that it was difficult for him to work on the material, but in the end, he was incredibly glad about the completion of the evacuation.
Today, Opanas Dermenzhi is finishing his book about his experience and continues to live with Mariia in the Odesa region. Serhii Zeynalov, their grandson, is distributing the film across Europe, trying to show the foreign public the horrific russian crimes, including the act of ecocide in the Kherson region, for Ukraine and the world.
