aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] CHORNOBYL DOCUMENTARY--UPDATE!!

[Irene Zabytko <irenezabytko@yahoo.com>]

Dear Friends,

GREAT NEWS!!

WE ARE READY TO LEAVE FOR UKRAINE ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5!!

Thanks to your generous support and faith in our project, we are going to be visiting Ukraine for our pre-production survey trip for LIFE IN THE DEAD ZONE, the documentary about the elderly survivors currently living in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. The documentary is based on my novel, The Sky Unwashed, and will feature the real life people who returned to their irradiated villages within the “dead zone” area surrounding the nuclear power plant that exploded on April 26, 1986.

Peter Mychalcewycz, the director/cinematographer, and I will travel to Kyiv on Monday, February 5. The purpose of this trip will be to scout for locations, meet the people we will interview, select archival footage, and film our travels for a promotional DVD.

Our plans include visiting the Chornobyl Museum for background research, traveling to the “dead zone” near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant to one of the evacuated Ukrainian villages, and meeting the people who are still inhabiting their homes despite the radiation. We have also been invited to visit the Fulbright office in Kyiv and present a talk to the Fulbright Fellows.

This is a very short trip—we will only be in Ukraine until February 12, but we anticipate great progress in the materials we will gather on film and in our research. After our return, we'll get our website up and running where I'll post photos, excerpts from my travel journal, the promotional DVD and other Chornobyl-related information including fabulous photos taken by Chicago based photographer, Luba Markewycz from her trip to the exclusion zone.

Because of your generosity and support, we are able to go to Kyiv for this very important research trip. The next phase after our return is to collect funds for the actual production of the film. If we get enough funding, we will return to Chornobyl in the spring, hire a professional film crew and begin the actual production of LIFE IN THE DEAD ZONE.

BUT WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU! Please continue to support us through your generous contributions (guaranteed to see your name on the film credits!). Help us continue to make this important film. We are a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and your donations will be tax-deductible for the year with the added benefit that our thanks to you will be eternal and you will receive good karma, blessings, and the knowledge that you are participating in a landmark and important film project.

Please send checks to:

The Ukrainian Artistic Center,

2657 W. Iowa Street, First Floor

Chicago, IL 60622-4755

Please earmark it as: “CHORNOBYL FILM”

We are so very grateful for this opportunity to begin our film, and we won't let you down! Thanks to all who have contributed to make this happen! Thanks in advance to all who will keep us going with a donation.

THANK YOU!! “Diakuyu”

Irene Zabytko

Producer, Writer

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