Volodymyr Zelenskyy's former co-producer visits Oregon to promote new Bucha film

A screenwriter who worked with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on comedies, before Zelenskyy became president of Ukraine, flew to Oregon on March 1 to explain how he’s turned to artistic and dramatic reenactments of recent history to aid in the Ukrainian war effort.

When Oleksandr Shchur was asked at his film’s downtown Portland preview how a writer of comedy could get into drama, he said that he was inspired by Craig Mazin, the writer of “Chernobyl” who got his initial fame from writing the “Scary Movie” spoof series. A resident of Kyiv, Shchur said he’s also changed since surviving the Russian invasion.

“You cannot stand aside when bad things are happening,” Shchur said. “You can more easily write about suffering if you’ve experienced suffering yourself.”

Shchur worked with Zelenskyy on romantic comedies during the 2010s. Shchur’s latest project is a biopic about a Kazakh activist who managed to travel to Russian-occupied territories in the first months of Vladimir Putin’s invasion and extract Ukrainian civilians to safety.

Russian soldiers and officers’ stupidity is a running joke throughout the film, which stands in contrast to the film's depiction of horrors of war and atrocities like murders, robberies and rape committed by Russian troops. Shchur said that moments of levity are necessary to keeping viewers' goodwill.

“Even in ‘Schindler’s List’ they have a few funny moments,” Shchur said.

Shchur’s retelling of Konstantin Gudauskas’ story has clear geopolitical intent, and the crowd who packed the Ecotrust Building reacted in ways that the screenwriter intended. More than 100 people at the film’s preview cheered when Gudauskas returned to waving yellow/blue flags and when he heard Ukrainian border patrol officer Roman Hrybov say “Russian warship, go f--- yourself” over the radio.

With his Kazakh passport, Gudauskas was able to travel repeatedly to Russian-occupied territories to witness atrocities and extract 203 civilians. Shchur wants his film to be seen by all members of Congress so U.S. leaders can better understand what’s at stake if Ukraine can’t fend off Russian attackers.

“If Russia conquers Ukraine, they will force Ukrainian men to fight against Poland or Baltic countries,” Shchur said. “We should explain this to Americans that they don’t just help Ukraine because they’re good people, but they also help Ukraine because it’s in their interest too.”

Atrocities in “Bucha” take place off camera, as Russian troops force characters outside of rooms to be raped or shot in the head. Shchur said that he wanted to demonstrate tragedy through the “suffering inside of people” rather than showing criminal acts within the camera’s frame.

Layered into “Bucha” is Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” with all seven deadly sins metaphorically represented during the action. The screening wasn’t an official premiere, as the production is still raising money for a new soundtrack, so the film’s producers asked viewers to refrain from describing specific scenes or writing an official review.

At the film preview, Shchur joined photojournalists Justin Yau and John Rudoff in expressing the global importance of Ukrainian’s defense against the Russian invasion.

“Ukraine is where democracy stands or falls,” Rudoff said.