When the camera is powerless — we act with our hands and minds. Through our work, we’ve been able to help two real people we met during filming. These are just a few of the stories from our team’s journey. Similar stories live in our other projects. Our team doesn’t just make films — we live alongside our characters.
An evacuation vehicle and a set of wheels.This was our largest shipment in recent months: a refrigerated evacuation vehicle for Andriy and new wheels for Valery. Their stories are part of our shared war. A story of quiet service — the kind of story that makes documentary filmmaking worthwhile.
Andriy never wanted to be filmed. Not once.
Since 2015, he coordinated volunteer work at the Kyiv Military Hospital — directing people, assigning tasks, helping the wounded. He never sought attention, never posed for the camera. He just did what needed to be done.
“They say material things don’t matter, but I speak of double emotions — joy that the vehicle is now in the unit, and sorrow for the missions it must fulfill,” wrote Andriy. “Endless thanks to everyone who contributed… Eternal memory to the fallen!”
The second story is about a set of wheels for Valery’s unit. Their vehicle badly needed repairs.
Valery was one of those who showed up at the draft office on the very first day of the invasion in February 2022.
Donbas. Soledar. Kherson region. He was there — where Wagner fighters charged in waves, as if numb to pain or fear.
He crossed the Inhulets River in a rubber boat, under mortar fire.
He evacuated the wounded. He buried the dead.
Today, he sends us a photo of the wheels and writes:
“Thank you for your help. Sending a hug. Glory to Ukraine!”
He’s not a film hero. He’s the reason we keep filming.
He’s a person thanks to whom we still have peace, a home, air, and children.
Documentary filmmaking is a way of participating in life — of being close to another human being, with a camera in hand.
Sometimes we choose our subjects to tell their story. We follow them, live their experiences, and weave their lives into the fabric of our films. But there are other encounters too — people who leave a deep impression, whom we meet along the way, and who decline to be filmed. That doesn’t mean we walk away.
They may not become part of the film.
But we remain part of their lives.
#ECGProductions, #
