The Knockturnal caught up with Oscar nominees Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman, the producing duo behind this year’s much buzzed about Best Documentary Feature nominee, Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom, which chronicles the events that unfolded in Ukraine during 2013/2014 when student demonstrations led to a violent revolution calling for the end of a corrupt national regime.
Congrats on the Oscar nomination! How does that feel?!
CC: Thank you! It’s an absolute dream come true!
LG: In our business, it’s the highest honor you can get. As long as it doesn’t go to your head and you keep working hard, there is really no better feeling.
What was it like to visually see the immediate shift from a peaceful to a violent protest?
CC: When the director Evgeny Afineevsky first showed us the footage, we were shocked and blown away that this was happening and I hadn’t heard or seen anything on the news about it.
LG: It’s typical for demonstrations to turn chaotic suddenly. The situation was so charged and people kept their anger for so long, it takes very little for all hell to break loose. From both sides.
What was it like while filming the personal interviews? Even though people were recollecting those moments their emotions must have been raw and fresh.
LG: We were not in Ukraine filming, it was Evgeny Afineevsky, the director, and a few different people who were filming in the actual fire zone, and therefore, they deserve a lot of the credit. We got the footage and took it to the next level of post and the sale to Netflix. Film making is a team effort. This movie wouldn’t be what it is today without the brilliant input of many, especially Adam Deldeo and Lisa Nishimura from Netflix, but first and foremost is Evgeny and the crew who risked their lives to bring it to the screen.
How did you feel going into this documentary? Where do you feel like it’s brought you now?
CC: We always knew that this had to be seen by the world; it’s absolutely unacceptable that these innocent people protesting for their rights could ever be treated this way. These people risked their lives for what they believe in. This documentary personally has changed my life. And when people see it, it changes theirs.
LG: I love this genre of film making anyway, so for me it was another subject to learn about. Once Evgeny told me about it and I saw the footage, I was disturbed. It is so much more powerful than watching a guy in a movie who is fighting a bear.
As far as where it brought us now, emotionally we hope this movie will change the situation in Ukraine. I hope that by exposing the mistreatment of the citizens, no innocent lives will be taken away there or anywhere in the world.
As far as our careers, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. The fact that we believed in something and we helped get it so far is a wonderful feeling. We hope to do it a few more times.
Have you gotten any responses or reactions from unlikely people about the documentary?
CC: Yes, it’s pretty powerful. The movie speaks for itself. People call us everyday to say how much they loved it and how it has touched and affected their lives.
LG: I got a few opposing reactions in my kids’ school. They claimed the movie was showing only one side. I admitted that I am new to the conflict but the cameras documented the truth, and the truth was that people like you and me were being killed for demonstrating and it should be wrong no matter how you look at it.
What were your intentions with the documentary and what it showed the rest of the world? Were you focused on a contextual explanation of the revolution or was this more the emotions the Ukrainians felt at that time?
LG: I don’t believe the director went to film with any intention to show good side or bad side. He was just filming. What he unveiled was a terrible injustice — a fight for freedom and democracy, which are very important values. It is crucial to remind the younger generation about what is the price of real values. In our movie there were some amazing people who lost their lives for it.
Seeing the remnants of everything that had happened, do you feel it is something the world must grow from as well as the country?
LG: You don’t have to be in Ukraine to understand that. Yes, I want the world to learn to respect human lives and protect it. We are all precious creatures with different opinions.
Winter On Fire is now streaming on Netflix!
This is what the talented producers have coming up next!
Intruders (Release: February 19, 2016)
Home invasion horror-thriller following three criminals who break into a supposedly empty house and find themselves in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the occupant, a shy young woman with a few nasty tricks of her own to play on the intruders. Stars Beth Riesgraf, Jack Kesy, Rory Culkin and Martin Starr.
Criminal (Release: April 15, 2016)
An American-British action thriller film directed by Ariel Vromen and written by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg. The film is about an ex-con who is implanted with a dead CIA agent’s memories to finish an assignment. The film stars Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Alice Eve.
Leatherface (Release: 2016 TBD)
Prequel about teenage Leatherface (from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise) who escapes from a mental hospital with three other inmates, kidnaps a young nurse and takes her on a road trip from hell. Along the way, they are pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge.
The Bleeder (In Production)
Upcoming American biographical sports drama, centered around heavyweight boxer and the reported inspiration for the successful ROCKY series, Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber) who challenges the champion, Muhammad Ali (Pooch Hall) for the world’s Heavyweight title. The film also stars Naomi Watts, Elisabeth Moss and Ron Perlman.
