UK cinemas to host charity screenings of Olga in support of Ukraine

Cinemas across the UK are uniting in support of Ukraine with a series of charity screenings of new film Olga.

Olga follows a young female Ukrainian gymnast who is forced to train in exile in Switzerland after leaving her home in Kyiv where her mother works as a journalist reporting on the Euromaidan protests.

From March 18 over 200 UK cinemas will be holding preview charity screenings of the film.

A donation will be made from each ticket sold to support Ukraine through the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Participating cinemas include Cineworld, Curzon, Everyman, Odeon and Picturehouse chains, as well as independent venues.

The BFI is working with 606 Distribution to coordinate the previews initiative.

Olga’s lead actress Anastasia Budiashkina not only plays the film’s 15-year-old eponymous gymnast, but is also a former member of Ukraine’s national gymnastics team.

Budiashkina recently arrived in Poland after fleeing Kharkiv in Ukraine due to the ongoing war.

She said: “I am very glad that Olga will be seen in the UK, and people will see the situation going on with Ukraine.

“Everyone involved with Olga worked very hard, and I put a part of myself into the film.

“I hope everyone will enjoy Olga.”

The film is set against the backdrop of the 2014 Maidan Revolution, which took place in Ukraine, the end of the Euromaidan protests, sparked by the Ukrainian government’s decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia.

During the revolution deadly clashes between protesters and security forces in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv culminated in the ousting of elected President Viktor Yanukovych and the overthrow of the Ukrainian government.

Olga held its world premiere during International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival 2021.

The film received its UK premiere as part of the Glasgow Film Festival earlier this week.

Pat Kelman, director of 606 Distribution, said: “I planned to release Olga in the late spring, but the invasion of Ukraine made me very nervous about releasing the film at all.

“When Watershed Cinema Curator Mark Cosgrove mentioned that venues were looking for a way to show support for Ukrainians, I realised that this very human and dramatic film set against the Ukraine 2013 Maidan Revolution could now resonate and connect with UK audiences in a meaningful way.

“Once word started to spread, it became clear that 606 needed help to make this event happen.

“I am hugely grateful to BFI Distribution for coming in and supplying this technical and marketing assistance.

“I am overwhelmed by the massive support the film distribution and exhibition community are showing for this project, and I hope we see full houses across the nation in support of Ukraine and Ukrainians.”