The Ukrainian Civil Society Hub hosted the first Brussels presentation of the documentary film “Strong as the Earth”. The premiere took place as part of an advocacy visit to Brussels by Ukrainian civil society activists and volunteers. The event was organized by ICUV, and ANTS Network with the support of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union, and the Ukrainian Civil Society Hub.
The Brussels premiere brought together Members of the European Parliament, civil society activists, representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora, film heroes – Anna Bohatyrova, and Lesya Gerasymyv, and documentary director – Lyudmila Melnyk.
Among the guests of honor were Witold Waszczykowski, Polish MEP, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Vsevolod Chentsov, Head of Mission of Ukraine to the European Union.
“Strong as the Earth” is a documentary film about people who, despite the consequences of the war, continue to live a full life in Ukraine. They hold the rear while the military holds the front, and feel a personal responsibility for their homeland, rebuilding their dreams and their homes. The heroes are ordinary but unusual, Ukrainians from different parts of the country, each of whom feels the power of being Ukrainian.
While watching, the film resonated with the audience and evoked sincere emotions in the viewers. We are very pleased that “Strong as the Earth” and its characters impressed our ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov. Afterward, he promised to make every effort to ensure that as many people outside of Ukraine as possible could see these incredible stories of resistance by ordinary civilian Ukrainians. According to him, the ability of Ukrainians to rebuild their lives even in the face of constant shelling and full-scale war must become a true inspiration for other nations.
During this advocacy trip, the Ukrainian delegation also had meetings with MEPs Rasa Juknevičienė and Andrius Kubilius (Lithuania).
We are grateful for the words of support from our Lithuanian partners, who promised to help us organize a screening of the film in Vilnius.
We also met MEP from Poland Anna Fotyga, and Markus Poesentrup, MEP Michael Gahlerther’s assistant (Germany).
Besides, we took part in laying flowers together with Polish members of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and Andrzej Halickiand, and Polish civic activists at the solidarity memorial.
Next, we had a chance to meet Tanel Tang, a member of the EU Support Group for Ukraine. He was interested in the role of the young people in the future reconstruction of Ukraine and expressed his desire to help with the promotion of our documentary in Belgium.
Another important meeting was with Mircea Nanka from StratCom Ukraine (Strategic communications center). We talked about countering russian propaganda and its influence in the world, and his experience of bringing journalists from the EU and around the world to Ukraine to cover an objective picture of the war. Discussed our vision of Ukrainian victory, introduced him to the Sustainable Peace Manifesto 2.0, and came to a common opinion that this significant document should be necessarily presented in European countries.
Overall, during this visit, we talked about the importance of European partners’ support for Ukraine and the need to bring Ukraine’s victory closer. To do this, we require weapons, fighter jets – F-16, sanctions against the aggressor country, and assistance in the future reconstruction of our country.
The visit was organized by ICUV together with the ANTS network.
“Strong as the Earth” is a documentary project of the “ANTS” Network for the Protection of National Interests, which was created with the assistance of the “Renaissance” International Fund”.