‘Taras’ Documentary Film Premieres in London

29 Jan 2025
Documentary film co-produced by Ukrainian Action and legendary US ski film company Matchstick Productions tells the story of Taras Bihus, a Ukrainian snowboarder turned soldier who finds solace in the mountains from the trauma of war.
Ukrainian Action is a UK charity and US nonprofit founded in March 2022 to support the survival and recovery of Ukraine.
‘Taras’ provided inspiration for the pioneering Ukrainian Action Heroes rehabilitation program teaching Ukrainian war veterans to ski and snowboard in the country’s Carpathian Mountains.
LONDON—29 January 2025—Ukrainian Action, a UK charity and US nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Ukraine since March 2022, premiered a short film in central London to raise awareness about mental health among Ukrainian veterans. Funds raised at the event will support Ukrainian Action’s rehabilitation program for veterans.
The film tells the story of Taras, a Ukrainian competitive snowboarder who enlisted to defend his country, suffered traumas in battle, and returned to the mountains to heal. A teaser to the documentary short can be found on the Matchstick Productions official YouTube site.
‘Taras’ was recently selected as a finalist at the w renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta, Canada in October 2024. The film was also selected and screened at the Carbondale, Crested Butte, Wasatch Mountain, Fresh Coast, and Santa Fe International Film Festivals in 2024, and will screen at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana, USA in February 2025.
“This film is about Taras, but it is also about the more than 1.3 million Ukrainian civilians who became wounded veterans almost overnight,” said Jeffrey Hartman, Ukrainian Action co-founder and CEO, who organized the filming in Ukraine during March 2023. “We asked Taras to share his story so that we could create a film to raise awareness about the plight of veterans and mental health in Ukraine. I am thankful to Workday for sponsoring our event tonight and enabling us to tell this story in London.”
Taras’ story provided inspiration for the pioneering Ukrainian Action Heroes rehabilitation program, launched in February 2023, which teaches Ukrainian war veterans suffering from mental trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), caused by active combat in war, to ski and snowboard in the country’s Carpathian Mountains alongside a program of psychological support and self-help tools.
“Imagine Ukraine with millions of veterans with mental health issues that are not cared for. These are men and women who have demonstrated that they are brave, resilient, dedicated, strong and patriotic - they can be a real asset to society if supported properly. However, if PTSD is not addressed properly it can breed anxiety and depression which can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms, and this group becomes a liability. Ukraine needs all citizens to be productive members of society now, whether militarily, economically, or socially. Now is the time to create the infrastructure to care for the millions more veterans that may appear after Ukraine’s victory,” Hartman explained.
Eduard Fesko, Deputy Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK remarked, “our government officials, together with NGOs and people like Jeffrey, are trying to identify best practices, best methodologies, resources and tools to help those people who have served. What comes out of this movie very clearly is that hundreds of thousands of civilians, over 1 million people have gone through uniform in Ukraine. For the vast majority of them, it was the first ever encounter with the brutal realities of the war. And it’s up to society to provide that support."
The Heroes program was developed to provide support to veterans and their families through a program of recreational and nature-based therapy, helping restore emotional well-being, improve physical health, and facilitate reintegration into civilian life. The primary goal is to help veterans and their families overcome stress and psychological trauma through participation in a variety of therapeutic, physical, psychological, spiritual and recreational activities, including learning to ski or snowboard, and other summer mountain activities such as hiking. The program also emphasizes reconnecting with nature in the scenic and serene Carpathian Mountains, to find inner resources for recovery.
During 2024, the UA Heroes program welcomed 33 veterans and 7 families to the program.
‘Taras’ was co-produced by Matchstick Productions, directed by Zeppelin Zeerip of Field Work and Ben Sturgulewski of Sturgefilm.
Contact Ukrainian Action to arrange a private screening of Taras.
Ukrainian Action operates transparently to ensure donors and volunteers feel connected to the endeavour. Many donors also volunteer to drive vehicles in UA’s humanitarian aid convoys from London to Poland. Supporters may follow convoy shipments and progress through the organization’s Instagram account.
How to help
To support a veteran to receive rehabilitation, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/taras. To donate generally to Ukrainian Action’s programs or volunteer, please visit www.ukrainianaction.com. To buy Ukrainian Action merchandise to support the relief effort, please the organization’s online store. All profits go to support the delivery of trucks and humanitarian materials to Ukraine and to fund veterans to receive rehabilitation. To follow Ukrainian Action on its social media accounts, please visit its Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
About Ukrainian Action
Headquartered in London, Ukrainian Action is a UK charity and U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the survival and recovery of Ukraine. Co-founded days after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, by CEO Jeffrey Hartman, his Ukrainian-born wife Natasha and Matthew Morgan, Ukrainian Action has raised over £4 million GBP and donated more than 340 vehicles and hundreds of pallets of physical humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. The organization is a network of over 40 core volunteers and more than 400 volunteer drivers. In February 2024, the Ukrainian Action Heroes rehabilitation program was launched to teach veterans to ski and snowboard in the Carpathian Mountains. Ukrainian Action is a CIO registered with the United Kingdom Charity Commission with UK Registered Charity Number 1202133, and is a U.S. tax-exempt public charity under 501(c)(3): FEIN 88-1173971. All donations from individual U.S. taxpayers are tax-deductible. To learn more, please visit: www.ukrainianaction.com.
Media contact
Jeffrey Hartman
Co-founder and CEO