The premiere of the documentary film “Family Album” took place

On November 21, the premiere of the documentary “Family Album” took place at the Zhovten cinema in the capital city. The film narrates the story of Austrian engineer Alexander Wienerberger and his great-granddaughter Samara Pearce, whose fates are surprisingly intertwined with the fate of Ukraine. It was filmed in 2023 in the UK, Austria, and Ukraine—in the Kharkiv region and at the Holodomor Museum.

“The story of the ‘Family Album‘ is a story about the most valuable exhibit in the world – the Leica II camera, which was used to take important photographic evidence of the Holodomor. In 2022, we held a small exhibition at which we presented this exhibit. And after some time, Andrii Korniienko and Maryna Tkachuk came to the museum and said: “Let’s make a movie about this?” As a museum worker, I am happy that the film is in several languages ​​and I wish it a successful and powerful journey around the world,” Lesia Hasydzhak, head of the Holodomor Museum, said before the film premiere.

“When I learnt about Alexander Wienerberger’s story, who secretly took photos of the Holodomor in Kharkiv in 1933 and managed to send them out through diplomatic mail, along with his great-granddaughter Samara Pearce, who also became a photographer, I realised that this is a completely ‘cinematic‘ story that deserves a separate film,” director Maryna Tkachuk says, adding that the film illustrates a crucial cause-and-effect connection: no one has ever been held responsible for the crime of the Holodomor, and that is why current war in Ukraine became possible. The director adds that the film was shot a year ago, and the situation in the Kharkiv region has significantly worsened since then: “In some settlements where the shooting took place, there are currently intense hostilities and I am not sure that we could shoot this film today. There is no contact with some of our heroes today and we know nothing about their fate. We were fortunate to document the Kharkiv region and the events that occurred thereafter the de-occupation.”

Today, the film is screening in around 80 cinemas in Ukraine. Additionally, “Family Album” will be available in Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Cyprus, Great Britain, Montenegro, Romania, Malaysia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Ghana, the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Botswana, Algeria and many other countries – in Ukrainian embassies, cinemas, cultural centres, within the framework of Ukrainian Cinema Days. Moreover, the documentary will be shown at the Council of Europe and the European Parliament – with the participation of foreign diplomatic missions.

On Holodomor Remembrance Day, November 23, at 6:00 PM, the Zhovten Cinema will host a screening with the film crew and the main character, Samara Pearce.

The film crew will also present the documentary in Khmelnytsky on November 22 at 6:30 PM at Woodmall Cinema and in Lviv on November 24 at 4:00 PM at Planeta Kino Cinema.

“Family Album” was shot by Good Morning Films, directed by Maryna Tkachuk, and produced by Andrii Korniienko. The project won the art competition at the State Enterprise “MPIU” TV Channel Dim. It was created thanks to state support for film production and partnership with the Holodomor Museum.

Thanks to the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the film has been translated and dubbed into five foreign languages ​​– English, German, French, Polish and Spanish.

We highly recommend watching it!