New Documentary details the barbarism of Russia’s hunt for civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson Region
As Russian forces escalate their attacks on Ukraine, a new documentary tells the story of a city under relentless assault—through the voices of its people.
The “human safari”—Russia’s practice of hunting civilians with drones—recently recognized as a war crime and a crime against humanity by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch has been primarily focused on Ukraine’s Kherson region. With the Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin openly claiming Kherson among the regions he plans to annex, the film gains urgent relevance. Watch trailer here:
The crew followed Khersonians through a year and a half of life under constant attacks, giving them a voice and carrying their memories and hopes. A yoga instructor featured in the film and later injured by a Russian FPV drone referred to the documentary as “our film.”
Rather than dwell on the horror of invasion, the documentary highlights human strength under extreme circumstances. What is a daily life like in a frontline city? How do you cook soup when a drone is buzzing outside your window? Do you still exercise?
“This film is not about pity or destruction—it’s about resistance,” said Ukrainian film editor Artem Tsynsksyi.
The Vision
The documentary is organized in chapters—Invasion, Protests, Occupation, Liberation, Post-Liberation Destruction, Flood, Human Safari—each opening with a dance performance, filmed under live artillery fire and drone attacks. Iconic buildings captured in these dance sequences no longer exist, and dance became a funerary rite.
Olena the dancer is a Khersonian, with an ordinary day job and a story. Filming a Liberation dance at Freedom Square, with something burning nearby and a drone buzzing overhead, Olena had to stop and listen before taking the second take. Director of Photography Oleksandr Andriushchenko, a local photojournalist for Vgoru, is used to filming and taking photos under fire. Each morning since November 2022, he’s documented Kherson’s destruction: a blade of grass beside a shell fragment, a child near a bomb shelter, an old woman watering roses next to a bomb crater. People in Kherson know him—silver-haired, smiling, filming during the attacks. A photography teacher and school founder, Oleksandr lost his archives when the Russian military settled in his house.
“I wasn’t planning to run, and I couldn’t not photograph,” said Ondriushchenko. “Photography is my life, so I found a way to serve my people by putting photojournalism first. Now, I document the life of Kherson and its people as it is—under enemy fire 24/7, with both pain and joy, without embellishment. I understand that what I’m doing now is important not only for Ukrainian society but also for the international community. The world must know the truth about Kherson, about the war crimes of the Russian Federation. The criminal must be brought to justice—only then, perhaps, will I return to artistic photography.”
In Odesa, editor Artem Tsinsksyi works for Suspilne Odesa, one of the major channels in Ukraine, cutting the footage of daily strikes. A professional theater artist and director, he shaped the film’s rhythm to the sounds of Shahid attacks at night. During the final edits, a Russian drone destroyed the Odesa Film Studio near Artem’s place.
“Symbolism, imagery, allusions, documentary testimony, and archival footage—all of this recreates the atmosphere, soul, fear, pain, love, and light of one city on screen,” said Artem. “The whole world must understand the horrors of this unprovoked war… each viewer can put themselves in the shoes of any character… and sense the heavy, sticky passing of time that hasn’t changed for over two years.”
Color
Colorist and videographer Jason N. Parkinson—who lived in a Kherson basement in 2022, taking direct fire from Russian artillery—turned raw footage from partisans’ phones, drones, and CCTV into quality film with cutting-edge AI.
“Kherson is the first city that fell to a Russian occupation that lasted nine months during the full-scale invasion in February 2022, with hundreds tortured and disappeared, children abducted and taken to reeducation camps, and the resistance hunted down,” said Jason. “Then came the bombardments of civilian infrastructure. Shells, mortars, missiles, and drones hunting down the civilian population. And to this day, it has never stopped, only intensified. I consider Kherson the most dangerous place I have ever had to work as a journalist.”
Sound
Composer Borys Hoina, during the occupation wrote music and biked around Kherson, photographing Russian equipment and passing intel to the Ukrainian army. He, his wife Praskovia, their three cats, parrot, and turtle appear on screen—offering Khersonian delicacies while sharing their tragedy: a son-in-law killed by Russians.
Alyona, a singer and writer, sings a folk song as she embroiders. Her shirts tell stories—one stained in a torture chamber, one damaged in a flood, one unfinished for a dying husband. Sixteen-year-old Vlada sings the opening and closing themes. Homeschooled due to war, she studies music online, singing through explosions and sirens. Her voice, slightly off-tune, lingers as she sings of Kherson’s sycamores. Street musicians play drums and accordions. Dogs howl to sirens.
Sound designer Yegor Irodov, doing post-production in Canada, was reminded of his teenage years working in a Kyiv burn center ICU.
“Only by setting emotions aside could we achieve results,” he said. “Tragedy came to my homeland, Ukraine… the only way to deal with it is with a clear and steady mind. The fight isn’t just happening on the front lines — it’s everywhere. And once you’re in it, there’s only one way forward: stand and fight — to the very end.”
The Sixth Sense
Kherson: Human Safari also brings to the audience the touch, taste, and smell of Kherson: local cheeses and liquor, cherries and peaches, flames of the fires started by drones and the stench of burning bodies, along with the broken glass and splintered trees. With drones above, mines below, and artillery shells whistling by, Kherson becomes a physical experience.
“In the film, the city of Kherson appears as a living being, methodically and brutally killed before our eyes… The strength of this film is that it simultaneously conveys the apocalyptic and life-affirming nature of Kherson life today,”
said executive producer Oksana Taranenko, a known Ukrainian theater and film director.
“In a world that is unable to stop war, it is important to believe that love will win. And love is the main character of this film.”
For executive producer Heidi Cuda, a journalist and film producer, originally from Los Angeles and now based in Paris, the message is equally urgent.
“Putin is the primary threat to democracy on earth,” she said. “If Ukraine defeats Russia, Putin’s regime will fall. The fate of the world depends on the fate of Ukraine. This film shows the strength and power of the Ukrainian people, their indomitable courage to resist. Kherson becomes a message to the world: if Russia is not stopped, the whole world becomes Kherson.”
The film will be released this week, free for all to watch, with a suggested donation. All proceeds go directly to support the city of Kherson.
