Edison Filmhub to screen Ukrainian documentary with director Q&A

As Russian aggression continues in Ukraine, filmmakers are helping shed light on the personal stories behind the conflict. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, Prague’s Edison Filmhub will host a free screening of Bring Me Back Home, a documentary that chronicles the plight of Ukrainian prisoners forcibly deported to Russia.

The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by a Q&A session with co-director Mariana Sych and Nadiia Ivanova from People in Need’s Center for Human Rights and Democracy, with Tomáš Brolík of Respekt magazine serving as moderator. The film will be screened with English subtitles, and is free to attend.

Bring Me Back Home, directed by Mariana Sych and Nazar Pytel, captures the harrowing experiences of three Ukrainian prisoners—Ruslan, Volodymyr, and Yuriy—who were serving sentences in Kherson before being illegally transported to Russia after the region was occupied.

Despite having only a few months left on their sentences, these men were subjected to severe abuse and pressured to serve in Russia's army. When they refused, they were deported to the Russian-Georgian border, where they endured months of uncertainty, waiting to return to Ukraine.

The film provides a stark look at the human impact of the ongoing conflict and offers a voice to those affected by the war's brutal realities. The screening at Edison Filmhub will be presented in Ukrainian with English subtitles (but without Czech subtitles) and has a runtime of 54 minutes.

Following the screening, a Q&A will delve into the broader implications of the documentary’s findings. Co-director Mariana Sych, a correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, will be joined by Nadiia Ivanova, director of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy at Czech NGO People in Need.

Directors Sych and Pytel have previously reported on human rights issues associated with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last year, they covered the plight of children who were illegally deported from the Donetsk region in a short documentary available to watch on YouTube.

The Sept. 4 screening of Bring Me Back Home is free to attend. More information can be found at the website of Edison Filmhub.