At the center of events is 11-year-old Yurik, who, together with his family, ends up in Mariupol in 2022, engulfed in fire and blockaded by Russian forces. When word comes of the danger of children being forcibly taken to Russia, and his sick grandmother cannot be moved out of the basement, his mother makes a desperate decision. She sends her son alone toward the border with Europe, having written a contact phone number on his arm. Yurik must make his way on his own across more than 1,000 kilometers of war-torn Ukraine, cross checkpoints, and reach safety, remembering his mother’s words: “As long as you live, I will live.”
Yurik
About the project
“Yurik” is a 2023 Ukrainian-Estonian war drama (road movie) directed by Oleksandr Timenko, created from an idea by Valentyna Rudenko. The film premiered on August 24, 2023 (Ukraine’s Independence Day) on the STB channel. It caused considerable public resonance and debate over its artistic reinterpretation of events during the 2022 siege of Mariupol, after which the filmmakers reworked and updated the film. The lead role is played by young actor Maksym Boriak, and the cast also includes Tamara Antropova, Rymma Ziubina, Viktor Zhdanov, and Estonian actors.
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All rights in “Yurik”, including its title, artwork, posters, stills, footage, trailers, music and soundtrack, belong to the respective production companies, studios, distributors and other rights holders. Sunrise Film took part in this project solely as a contractor, providing the following services: Full Sound Post. Posters, images, video excerpts and credits are reproduced here only to illustrate that contribution, on a non-commercial basis, and imply no ownership, endorsement or affiliation beyond the stated engagement. Rights holders who wish for any material to be corrected, credited differently or removed are welcome to contact us.
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