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When the Russian Armed Forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, they murdered more than 1,000 civilians in the city of Bucha, a slaughter that became known as the Bucha massacre. But even more might have been killed if not for Konstantin Gudauskas, an activist who saved 203 Ukrainian lives.
Now, Gudauskas is the subject of Bucha, a feature film that chronicles his heroic actions—and will screen for one night only in Portland on Friday, March 1.
A Lithuanian Jew and a citizen of Kazakhstan, Gudauskas has used his Kazakh passport to travel to Russian-occupied territories to assist escaping civilians, becoming known as the “Angel of Vorzel” (a reference to a suburb of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv). Among those Gudauskas rescued were his wife, the famous Ukrainian composer Ihor Poklad, with whom he hid in a cellar for two weeks as the couple evaded Russian troops.
In Bucha, Gudauskas is played by Polish actor Cezary Lukaszewicz (Loving Vincent). The film was directed by Stanislav Tiunov and written by Oleksandr Shchur, who will participate in a Q&A at the Portland screening, which will be held at the Billy Frank Jr. Conference Center (located inside the Ecotrust Building).
While Bucha has mostly screened on the festival circuit this year, it is a massive effort teaming a film studio, Film.UA Group, with a long list of co-producers: Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the State Border Service, and the National Police (plus Kyiv’s City Council and Regional Military Administration).
Tickets for Bucha, which start at $30, are now on sale here.