Country: Poland, Ukraine | Type: Documentary | Year: 2024 | Duration: 70 minutes |
The film is shown in the original language with Ukrainian and English subtitles.
About the Film
Anna is an animal rights activist and a world champion in powerlifting. She has loved animals since childhood, which led her to dedicate her life to them by teaching biology in school and working at a zoo. Facing numerous challenges, Anna realized she needed to be strong, both mentally and physically. At the age of 40, she began powerlifting and became the "strongest woman in the world." As an animal rights activist, Anna has led campaigns for animal rights, managed shelters, and found new homes for dozens of stray animals. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she continued to rescue animals in her hometown of Mykolaiv, which suffered from bombings. Risking her own life, she organized a humanitarian center and began helping both animals and people in the city and on the front line.
Why Should Watch?
Every life is valuable and no one has the right to destroy it – this is the main principle Anna lives by, even when enemy rockets tear through the sky above her. Besides caring for animals, Anna works as a powerlifting coach for athletes with special needs. She is sincere and empathetic, finding an approach to everyone.
"The experience of war reveals true human qualities and lays bare the human soul. The litmus test of humanity is our attitude towards the weakest – those who cannot take care of themselves or whom society has no 'interest' in caring for," comment the directors about the film.
Awards and Festivals
Krakow Film Festival (Audience Award, Special Mention for Best Producer), 2024
Docudays UA (Grand Prize of the Rights Now! competition), 2024
About the Directors
Tetyana Dorodnitsyna is a director, editor, and visual artist. She has worked on television channels, in production companies, and at the Kyivtelefilm film studio. She participated in film production labs such as Eurasia Doc Lab, Astra Film Lab, Kharkiv Meet Doc Lab, and Millennium Docs Against Gravity Industry. She edited the feature-length documentaries "Roses. Film-Cabaret" (2021) by Irena Stecenko and "Askania Reserve" (2019) by Andriy Lytvynenko. "Everything Must Live" is her feature-length debut.
Andriy Lytvynenko is a director and producer. His feature-length documentary "Askania Reserve" (2019) won Best Film at the Docudays UA film festival and a special jury award at the Pelicam film festival. Andriy Lytvynenko is also a co-author and one of the directors of the film "Euromaidan. Rough Cut" (2014), which received a special mention at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.