JULIA BLUE 

Cinema as Activism

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In March, 2022, Julia Blue was named one of the top ten films about Ukraine by the The Guardian, prompting me activate 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 and donated at screenings 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 most importantly, the funds were used to directly support the cast.  The village hall where we shot the wedding scene became an impromptu sewing factory, we were able to ship boots, gloves and winter wear to newly conscripted actors turned soldiers, and support the purchase of a drone for a camera operator whose creative skills were used to track and map the atrocities in Mykolaiv.  We helped our lead actress rescue a shelter of animals destroyed by shelling, and a team of women who gathered in a basement in Kyiv to bake bread and hand deliver it to elderly people at home. A pdf document is available to learn more about these actions.

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The film also became 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 continues to screen for universities throughout the United States and is available for distribution.  

For screening information please contact: kinoroxprod@gmail.com

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