This story matters to us because it unveils the truth of what so much of the world has tried to blur, that Ukraine is not at war by choice; they are defending their right to exist, to speak their language, to walk freely on their land and to live without terror knocking at their door.

Rise; First Steps, Second Time, weaves together the untold stories of Ukrainian women - the mothers, daughters, artists, and soldiers - who hold their communities and county together through war and devastating loss. We hold space for their stories because propaganda thrives when silence takes hold.

The current situation in Ukraine is not just a military act, it is a war against women, against culture and against sovereignty.

Their art, their voices and their history continues to be under siege, yet, they rise - creating, protecting and birthing new stories, while building new bridges from the rubble.

This film is both a tribute and a transmission; of sorrow, of strength and of sacred truth.

We hold a light to that truth; we are here to tell the unfiltered narratives of Ukrainian women, pillars of survival and hope, told with luminous strength as, against all odds, and despite injustice and war, their resilience and unity continues to carry their families, their culture, and their country forward.

At its heart, Rise; First Steps Second Time is a love letter to the world that speaks to the resilience and sovereignty of all women, ‍ ‍Rise is a reclamation of narrative that chooses to look at the raw truth; it walks through it, and emerges holding a mirror to what is most human in us: the will to begin again.

Ukrainian women face the daily reality of war, human rights violations and state-sanctioned terror.

This film is our offering; to amplify their voices, honor their strength. and remind us all that storytelling is not passive— it is protest, and in that protest, we remember and we heal.

Because the truth matters and Ukrainian women were never meant to be footnotes.

We make films that matter. This is one of them.

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