JULIA BLUE
JULIA BLUE
Year of release: 2020
USA/Ukraine: 86min.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS
**Winner - Best Director
Sonoma International Film Festival 2019
Woodstock Film Festival 2018
**Winner - Best Director World Cinema 2018
Anchorage International Film Festival 2018
**Winner - Best Feature Film Award
Seattle International Film Festival 2018
Cleveland International Film Festival 2018
Phoenix International Film Festival 2018
Berkshire International Film Festival 2018
RECOGNITION
*Fulbright Scholar Award Ukraine 2014-2015
*IFP Narrative Labs 2016
Award-winner deep euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant for Emerging Female Director - 2016
*Seattle International Film Festival - WIP Forum 2017
*Rooftop Films - Work-In-Progress 2017
SYNOPSIS
Julia, a bright university student, is preparing for a life abroad when an unexpected romance sparks between her and English, a damaged soldier returning from the war zone in eastern Ukraine.
From metropolitan Kyiv to a remote Carpathian village, Julia and English must decide if they are ready to build a future together in a homeland that is slowly being torn apart.
JULIA BLUE - Cinema as Activism
In March, 2022, Julia Blue was named one of the top ten films about Ukraine by the The Guardian. Roxy then spearheaded activating the film as a tool to raise funds for various organizations and give direct aid to cast and crew living in Ukraine.
Over $50,000 was raised between March 2022 and March 2023. Organizations which benefited from the screenings include: Revived Soldiers Ukraine, Nova Ukraine, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Razom for Ukraine, Ukrainian National Women's League, University of Michigan - War Crimes Project, and more.
The film is part of the Ukrainian Embassy Kyiv's cultural awareness program and has been translated into Spanish to be shown in countries across Central and South America.
Julia Blue is available to stream on Amazon US & UK.
A modern feminist perspective, meanwhile, emerges in the lively Julia Blue, in which director Roxy Toporowych tells a Kyiv romance through the prism of post-revolutionary PTSD.
-The Guardian, Streaming the Best Ukrainian Films Past and Present, 2022
A beautiful allegory for the freedoms of our modern world that seem all too fleeting, Julia Blue reminds us not just of the costs of love and war, but of the sometimes painful choices freedom demands.
-Seattle International Film Festival 2018
The sophistication of her craft in every way is remarkable for her first film. Her film humanizes a world historical event by dwelling not on the movers and shakers of history, but rather on how world events invade and shape the life of of one remarkable young woman while bringing awareness to the war in Ukraine. We hope and expect we will see many more accomplished films from Best Director, Roxy Toporowych.
-Thelma Adams, Film Critic and Juror
Woodstock Film Festival 2018
Ayr Film Society, Scotland, February 2020
Bethel College, Kansas
Guest Lecturer and Screening, March 2019
APRIL 3
StoryScreen Beacon, NY
100% of proceeds went to
UCCA Humanitarian Relief Fund
$1,000 sent to UCCA Fund
APRIL 14
Jersey City Theatre Center
Q&A to follow immediately after.
$150 sent to Ukrainian Jersey City
APRIL 14- APRIL 27
Klassiki International, UK
Two-week focus on Ukraine streaming
APRIL 24
Bryan College, TN
*FREE*
Screening for college journalists and community
6:00pm
APRIL 28
CAMBRIA FILM FESTIVAL
Thursday, April 28, 2022 6:30 PM PDT
Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre, director Q&A to follow
Donations to NOVA UKRAINE
*UPDATE $2400 SENT TO NOVA UKRAINE
MAY 13
VANCOUVER
Comax Valley Film Festival, BC
8:30pm
COBBLESTONE FREEWAY
Tickets
MAY 21
Berkshires International
Film Festival
Great Barrington, MA
11:00am followed by Q&A
*UPDATE $1000 SENT TO
REVIVED SOLDIERS
MAY 29
TORONTO, ON
in partnership with UCU
Revue Cinema Screening
with in person Director Q&A!
Tickets $25
$30 at the door.
*UPDATE $2767.93 SENT TO UCU HELPS UKRAINE
JUNE 9
Ukrainian Institute of America
New York City
*UPDATE $2000 sent to
UNWLA
OCTOBER 15th
Ukrainian Consulate MEXICO
Ukrainian COSTA RICA days
*FREE with Spanish Subtitles
NOVEMBER 6th
ANN ARBOR, MI
Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
*$750 raised
Donated to University of Michigan War Crimes project.
NOVEMBER 17
Washington, DC
VITAL VOICES
*TBD MONIES RAISED
Tickets:https://juliabluescreening.splashthat.com/