Documentary Project: Ukrainian Women: Between Two Worlds
by Mariia Makarova, 2025
February 24, 2022 – a date etched into the collective memory of Ukraine. A date when ordinary lives were upended, and a quiet morning gave way to the thunder of war. From this moment, the lives of millions split into two chapters: before and after.
In Ukrainian Women: Between Two Worlds, filmmaker and storyteller Mariia Makarova gives voice to six courageous Ukrainian women who were suddenly thrust into the role of refugees. This intimate documentary weaves together their powerful stories of loss, resilience, and transformation, capturing what it means to survive – and rebuild – when everything familiar has vanished.
Each woman’s story is a personal journey: of fleeing home under duress, navigating new cultures, and confronting the realities of starting over in a place that is at once safe and unfamiliar. Yet this film is not solely about war or exile. It is about human strength. About the in-between spaces where grief and hope coexist. And about the quiet victories of everyday life – learning a new language, finding community, daring to dream again.
With raw honesty and emotional depth, the documentary invites the viewer to witness the emotional toll of displacement and the unbreakable thread of identity that ties these women to their homeland. It is a tribute to those living in exile, forging lives in countries far from the one they still call home.
This project is more than a film – it’s a testament to the spirit of Ukrainian women, and a call to listen, to understand, and to stand in solidarity.