by FilmInk Staff
The doc, executive produced by 2 time Oscar winner Janusz Kaminski and Liev Schreiber, will play at the 11th Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
Liev Schreiber’s charity, Blue CheckUkraine, teamed up with Janek Ambros’ short documentary on the refugee crisis. The film, Ukrainians in Exile, executive produced by two-time Academy Award winner and Steven Spielberg’s longtime cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (SAVING PIRVATE RYAN, SCHINDLER’S LIST), will play at the 11th Melbourne Documentary Film Festival in late July.
Celebrities, many of whom have been vocal since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, showed their support by sharing the documentary and the charity during Ambros and BlueCheck Ukraine’s campaign. Actors like Stephen Fry, Brian Cox, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lucy Liu, Hayden Panettiere, Kate Wlash, Rainn Wilson, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt, and Rosie O’Donnell participated. Musicians like Peter Gabirel, Third Eye Blind, Against Me!, and Five for Fighting also shared and supported.
Since March 2022, BlueCheck has identified, vetted and funded more than 20 frontline organizations providing emergency services to Ukrainian people. And we continue to raise money to support on-the-ground assistance. Their pro-bono partners, Ropes and Gray and Integrity Risk International, provide independent due diligence oversight. In addition to Schreiber, the organization was co-founded by Jason Cone, Harris Fishman, Michael Goldfarb, Sofia Shield, Murphy Poindexter, and Margrit Polak. Natalie Jaresko serves as Board of Directors. Readers can donate now to https://www.bluecheck.in/donate.
The film can be viewed via The Nation, the film’s distributor.
Under his company Assembly Line Entertainment, Ambros has been writing, directing and producing feature narrative and documentaries since 2011. He’s just produced “In the Summers”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in January. He is currently preparing to direct Night Trader, a financial thriller which he wrote.
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival has become a cultural phenomenon in Melbourne, with sold-out sessions and encores, ranking as one of Australia’s top film festivals. We aim to promote diverse, independent, and creative filmmakers, supporting global and local talent. MDFF has helped filmmakers reach major platforms.
