EastNow: a joint project of the United Nations Recovery & Peacebuilding Programme and FILM.UA

EastNow is a joint video project of the UN Recovery and Peacubulding Programme and FILM.UA, telling the story of local people living in eastern Ukraine and highlighting positive changes in the region. 

Episode 1: Luhansk Oblast

In the first episode, the project's hosts Yaroslav Lodygin and Valeria Chachibaia go to Starobilsk, where Yaroslav shot the film "Wild Field" ("Dyke Pole"). Also, they will get acquainted with the locals of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, asking them about their lives, plans and dreams. The hosts will visit the Lysychansk hub "Druzhba", East Ukrainian Dahl National University in Sievierodonetsk and meet with local artists, farmers and civil society activists.

Episode 2: Donetsk Oblast

The second episode will begin with a trip to a boarding school in Kreminna, which Yaroslav and Valeria previously supported. Then the hosts will travel to Bakhmut, where they will descend into the salt mine and the cellars of the champagne factory. In Sloviansk, Yaroslav will talk with activists and Valeria with a well-known sculptor. The trip will complete in Kramatorsk, in its creative coworking space "VilnaKhata".

Background:

The UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme is being implemented by four UN agencies: The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (UN Women), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The programme is supported by 11 international partners: the European Union, the European Investment Bank, and the governments of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Japan.