Nevydymyi batalyon / Invisible Battalion

Iryna Tsilyk, Svitlana Lischynska, and Alina Gorlova: Невидимий батальйон / Nevydymyi batalyon / Invisible Battalion (UA  2017).

Невидимий батальйон

Nevydymyi batalyon - istorii nashih zhinovi na vijni

Invisible Battalion - The Stories of Our Women at War

    UA © 2017 Institut Genderyh Program. PC: Tabor Productions.

    D: Iryna Tsilyk, Svitlana Lischynska, and Alina Gorlova. Cin: Oleksyi Kuchma, Denis Lushchik, Serhiy Morgunov, Vyacheslav Tsvetkov (as Slava Tsvetkov), Petro Tsymbal. M: Ptakh Jung, Mykhailo Nikolayev. S: Yasul Yavtushenko. ED: Max Milin. 
    Featuring: Olena Bilozerska, Yulia Matvienko, Yulia Paievska, Andriana Susak, Oksana Yakubova, Daria Zubenko

    89 min

    Language: Ukrainian

    Ukrainian premiere: 17 Nov 2017.

    Screened with English subtitles in Ukrainian Film Days, Helsinki, Orion, 8 Nov 2024

    Vimeo screener viewed at home 9 Nov 2024.

AA: A non-fiction survey of the first years (2014-2017) of the Russo-Ukrainian war following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity. Without a declaration of war, Russia attacks Crimea and launches the Donbas War.

Directed by Iryna Tsilyk, Svitlana Lischynska, and Alina Gorlova, Invisible Battalion is the story of the indispensable contribution of women to the defense of Ukraine.

For a Finnish viewer, it is a parallel work to the opening film of the 2024 Ukrainian Film Days, Taru Mäkelä's Lotat / Women in War (FI 1995). Like in Finland in WWII, women in Ukraine contribute to the defense as cooks, seamstresses, cleaners, accountants and in reconnaissance. But in Ukraine, they also participate in actual combat, in defiance of the legislation.

Taru Mäkelä told the stories of five women veterans. In Invisible Battalian, there are six, Olena Bilozerska, Yulia Matvienko, Yulia Paievska, Andriana Susak, Oksana Yakubova and Daria Zubenko, whose stories we hear and see in first person narratives. Their tasks: paramedic, sniper, major. 

The heaviest burden falls on Oksana Yakubova, Major, responsible for sending soldiers to almost certain death. "Surviving after war is more difficult than war". She is suffering from an acute PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome), attempting in therapy to wash the shock images of war from her memory and fending off suicidal thoughts.

Andriana Susak got pregnant during the war and returned with her husband from the front on the fourth month of pregnancy. She tells about a fellow combatant who jumped from the 16th floor the year before because of PTSD. "Our entire nation has PTSD".

The film was produced by an advocacy organization for women's rights, promoting equality in the military, resisting a pervasive belittling of women.

The "you are there" atmosphere is compelling.

Iryna Tsilyk, Svitlana Lischynska, and Alina Gorlova: Невидимий батальйон / Nevydymyi batalyon / Invisible Battalion (UA  2017).

INVISIBLE BATTALIOIN: OFFICIAL PRESENTATION

“I know a girl who dragged the injured away from the battlefield under fire in Ilovaisk when most men were hiding in a cellar. If a woman, mother, sister or daughter, wishes to protect our values and our territory, then nobody can prohibit that to her.”

Invisible Battalion consists of six stories of servicewomen told by three Ukrainian film directors: Iryna Tsilyk, Svitlana Lischynska, and Alina Gorlova. The film protagonists are different by their life experience, age, military, and civil professions, but all of them were united by this war, and their stories create a panoramic picture of the woman’s status in the Armed Forces. Maria Berlinska, the film producer, speaks about the project goal, “First, to document the history that’s happening here and now, to show how women fight. Second, to break down this wall for women. This cannot be about either gender or eye color, only education, only professionalism, and skill. Films are a good instrument that can be used to explain these things to society. And, finally, the third goal, which is very important for me. We are losing the informational war in the world. With this documentary, we want to show that it’s not a civil conflict that we have here, it’s Russian occupation, for the fourth year in a row. The world will see in our film how our women die and get injured, how they fight and win the battles with the Russian army. And we do not need their deep concerns, we need real support.”

The documentary was premiered on TV on October 16, 2017, on national Channel 1+1, and later premiered at Oskar Cinema on November 24, 2017. 

The documentary has already been screened around the world, in particular in Shanghai, Milan, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, New York, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, as well as at the Parliament of Canada and UN Security Council.

Invisible Battalion raises active discussion on the rights of women in the security and defense sector, stimulating governmental authorities to reform the legislation left over from the Soviet times. In particular, in June 2016, under the pressure of public opinion, the Ministry of Defense expanded the list of battle positions available for women by 63 positions. The heroines of Invisible Battalion have also become cultural ambassadors of Ukraine, and through their stories, they tell the international community about the great threat of the Russian aggression, and that Ukraine is currently protecting not just its own territories but also democratic values in general, this is why it is a reliable ally and partner.

Partners: Canada-Ukraine International Assistance Fund (Canada), Razom (USA)

...

INFO AT UKRAINIAN FILM DAYS, 8 NOV 2024

INVISIBLE BATTALION

Ukraine, 2017

Alkuperäinen nimi: Невидимий батальйон

Englanninkielinen nimi: INVISIBLE BATTALION

Ohjaaja: Alina Horlova, Svitlana Lishchynska, Iryna Tsylyk

Ikäraja: 18

Maa: Ukraine

Valmistumisvuosi: 2017

Kesto: 90 min

Kieli: ukraina

Tekstitys: englanti

ILMAINEN SISÄÄNPÄÄSY / FREE ADMISSION

Ensimmäinen dokumenttielokuva ukrainalaisten naissotilaiden panoksesta taistelussa venäjän aggressiota vastaan. Koostuu kuuden asepalveluksessa olevan naisen tarinasta. Päähenkilöt eroavat toisistaan niin elämänkokemuksensa, ikänsä, sotilas- ja siviiliammattinsa puolesta, mutta sota yhdistää heitä kaikkia. Heidän tarinoidensa kautta silmiemme eteen avautuu kuva naisen asemasta Ukrainan asevoimissa venäjän hyökkäyksen jälkeen vuonna 2014, jolloin naiset joutuivat muuttamaan vanhaa neuvostoliiton jälkeistä lainsäädäntöä.

Näytöstä seuraa 40 minuutin Q&A.

***

The first documentary film about the contribution of Ukrainian military women to the fight against Russian aggression. It consists of the stories of six women in military service. The main characters differ from each other in life experience, age, military and civilian professions, but they are all united by the war. Through their stories, a picture of the position of women in the Ukrainian Armed Forces opens before the eyes after the Russian invasion in 2014, when women had to change the old post-Soviet legislation.