Award-Winning Documentary Offers Twelve Women’s Unique Perspective on the Conflict in Ukraine

Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War, an 81-minute documentary resulting from a dozen in-person interviews ELYSIAN Producer Karen Floyd conducted in Ukraine in 2023, features images and testimonials that have forever changed those who have seen it.

As Ukraine fights back, Floyd shines the brightest light possible on the grit, determination, vulnerability and the strength of the women of Ukraine.

12 Women’s War  has been awarded Outstanding Excellence at the Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival, Best Human Rights entry at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, Finalist at the International Women Filmmakers Festival, Semi-Finalist at the Bridge of Peace International Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Heart of Europe International Season Film Festival. It was an official selection in the Valkyrie International Film Festival, International New York Film Festival and the ETHOS Film Awards. The documentary premiered at an opening night screening and received a Special Jury Award for Directing at Los Angeles’ 14th annual Awareness Film Festival, which spotlights “films that make a difference.”

ELYSIAN, an international luxury lifestyle brand created to inspire and reflect the interests of women, produced Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War because women are as inspiring in a war zone as they are in a boardroom. The film tells the stories of 12 Ukrainian women from all walks of life who maintain their humanity in the face of the horror and tragedy of war.

Through Floyd’s lens, we realize the rest of the world cannot just think about the war in Ukraine when convenient — she illustrates this is an urgent crisis we must work to end now. 

“ELYSIAN’s mantra is ‘Women Inspiring Woman,’ and we do that through our stories,” said Floyd, who served as the film’s director and executive producer. “The stories of these twelve women are nothing short of incredible. From safe houses near the front lines to the country’s Supreme Court, these women form the backbone of Ukraine, never breaking, always persevering… and they will carry the trauma from this for the rest of their lives.”

Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War is the latest in a growing number of short- and long-form films produced as part of the ELYSIAN ecosystem. As philanthropy is foundational to ELYSIAN, each film ends with a call to action. This film will help raise money for the WLS Foundation, a charity that benefits veterans across the world with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological scars from war.

“The consequences of the battlefield — any battlefield — stay with us, and they don’t just affect the veteran … They affect that veteran’s family and loved ones,” said Dr. Sheri Biggs, a co-producer of the film who provides mental health services to veterans. Biggs works closely with the WLS Foundation, “which exists to meet the mental health needs of veterans of all ages, with special emphasis on suicide prevention.”

ELYSIAN launched in 2015 and has evolved into a comprehensive multimedia brand. ELYSIAN’s documentary CatWalk FurBaby won Best Fashion Documentary at the 2023 New York City International Fashion Film Festival. ELYSIAN Impact, the brand’s philanthropic arm, has disbursed more than $16 million over the past eight years to charities in five areas: women, children, animals, service, and the environment.

 

(Image Credit: ELYSIAN)