Director: Rob Finch
Executive Producer: Erin Benzakein
Editor: Sarah Bourscheid
Producer: Rob Finch
Associate Producer: Sarah Bourscheid
Director of Photography (Ukraine): Oleh Halaidych
Additional Cinematography: Alla Olkhovska, Vitaliy Olkhovskyi
Production and Post Support: Chris Benzakein, Jill Jorgensen, Laura Davis, Melissa Reese, Angela Strand
More:
For a Ukrainian Gardener Flowers Offer a Way Forward, NY Times
Why We Made the Film
Director: Rob Finch
Executive Producer: Erin Benzakein
Editor: Sarah Bourscheid
Producer: Rob Finch
Associate Producer: Sarah Bourscheid
Director of Photography (Ukraine): Oleh Halaidych
Additional Cinematography: Alla Olkhovska, Vitaliy Olkhovskyi
Production and Post Support: Chris Benzakein, Jill Jorgensen, Laura Davis, Melissa Reese, Angela Strand
More:
For a Ukrainian Gardener Flowers Offer a Way Forward, NY Times
"While you are alive and while you have an opportunity to make something productive, beautiful and good. There is always a hope."
— Alla Olkhovska
Gardening in a War Zone
"Sometimes I am trying to get to sleep, and I begin to think about the war, about the explosions, about this possibility that any time my dearest persons can be killed. I say to myself, do not think about that. Think about flowers," says Alla Olkhovska.
Alla lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine, about thirty kilometers from the eastern border. She's a gardener, photographer, writer, and caretaker who tends to a family garden that her great-grandfather planted as an apple orchard after World War II. What began as a means of survival for struggling ancestors has become home to rare clematis and stunning flowers. Munitions and debris land just yards from her grandmother's house. Air alerts scream day and night. Yet every morning, Alla boards a public bus to reach her garden.
The garden serves multiple purposes. It's Alla's sanctuary, a place where beauty persists despite the war raging around her. It's also a lifeline. She collects seeds from her clematis and rare flowers, selling them to care for her elderly grandmother, her mother-in-law, and her husband, who nearly lost his life to Covid-19 and hasn't fully recovered.
Even as harsh winter approaches and the war continues, Alla refuses to abandon what she's cultivated. She fights for her family's survival one seed at a time, choosing to focus on flowers instead of explosions, on growth instead of destruction.
This film couldn't be made the traditional way. Alla recorded herself on her phone while we talked over Zoom calls that were regularly interrupted by power outages and air raid sirens. We found a local cinematographer who could film with her for two days. Getting footage transferred was laborious and dangerous.
As we worked, the situation grew more desperate. Russia weaponizes winter against Ukrainian citizens, attacking infrastructure for heat and water during the coldest months. Alla was selling five individual flower seeds at a time to survive. We realized this film needed to be more than documentation – it needed to be a lifeline.
We published it on YouTube hoping people would respond. They did. Alla's seeds sold out. Donations poured in. Messages of support arrived from around the world.
Working with Alla taught me something fundamental about what stories can do. This wasn't just a film to watch – it became a means of action. Alla showed me that beauty isn't what we pursue when life is good. It's what keeps us going when everything else falls apart.
Gardening in a War Zone
"Sometimes I am trying to get to sleep, and I begin to think about the war, about the explosions, about this possibility that any time my dearest persons can be killed. I say to myself, do not think about that. Think about flowers," says Alla Olkhovska.
Alla lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine, about thirty kilometers from the eastern border. She's a gardener, photographer, writer, and caretaker who tends to a family garden that her great-grandfather planted as an apple orchard after World War II. What began as a means of survival for struggling ancestors has become home to rare clematis and stunning flowers. Munitions and debris land just yards from her grandmother's house. Air alerts scream day and night. Yet every morning, Alla boards a public bus to reach her garden.
The garden serves multiple purposes. It's Alla's sanctuary, a place where beauty persists despite the war raging around her. It's also a lifeline. She collects seeds from her clematis and rare flowers, selling them to care for her elderly grandmother, her mother-in-law, and her husband, who nearly lost his life to Covid-19 and hasn't fully recovered.
"While you are alive and while you have an opportunity to make something productive, beautiful and good. There is always a hope."
Even as harsh winter approaches and the war continues, Alla refuses to abandon what she's cultivated. She fights for her family's survival one seed at a time, choosing to focus on flowers instead of explosions, on growth instead of destruction.
— Alla Olkhovska
This film couldn't be made the traditional way. Alla recorded herself on her phone while we talked over Zoom calls that were regularly interrupted by power outages and air raid sirens. We found a local cinematographer who could film with her for two days. Getting footage transferred was laborious and dangerous.
As we worked, the situation grew more desperate. Russia weaponizes winter against Ukrainian citizens, attacking infrastructure for heat and water during the coldest months. Alla was selling five individual flower seeds at a time to survive. We realized this film needed to be more than documentation – it needed to be a lifeline.
We published it on YouTube hoping people would respond. They did. Alla's seeds sold out. Donations poured in. Messages of support arrived from around the world.
Working with Alla taught me something fundamental about what stories can do. This wasn't just a film to watch – it became a means of action. Alla showed me that beauty isn't what we pursue when life is good. It's what keeps us going when everything else falls apart.