OFFICIAL SELECTION - Newport Beach Film Festival | WORLD PREMIERE – Billy Wilder Theater at UCLA Hammer Museum | "Eyes on Ukraine reveals the resilience and strength of a generation fighting not just for survival, but for visibility and change.” - Los Angeles Documentary
HIV • HIV-Related Stigma • War in Ukraine • American Studies • Displacement • Loss • Mental Health
Date of Completion: 2025 | Run Time: 35 minutes | Language: English and Ukrainian with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript & Discussion Guide (Available upon purchase) | Director: Mo Stoebe | Executive Producer: Richard Gere | Producers: David Gere & Katja Kulenkampff
This film follows 24-year-old Yana Panfilova, a Ukrainian HIV-positive activist living in Berlin. Born with the virus and exiled from her home in Kyiv because of the war with Russia, she continues to run Teenergizer, a large youth organization which supports young people in Ukraine who face challenges around HIV and mental health.
To shed light on the growing HIV crisis and stigma associated with the virus in her country, Yana works with veteran photographer Gideon Mendel who, after decades chronicling the epidemic, has decided to hand over the camera to HIV-positive people, turning subjects into creators.
After Gideon trains Yana to use photography as a tool to tell her story, she sets out to share moments of her life. Her effort becomes pivotal as she inspires three young people living with HIV from Ukraine to join forces. After completing their own photographic training in Berlin, Liza, Mariia and Yehor return to Ukraine to shed light on a unique crisis during a difficult time in history.
FESTIVALS
Awareness Festival
Los Angeles Documentary (Finalist)
Love Wins Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival
Voices Rising Film Festival
SCREENINGS
Cinemapolis
Cinemova
Dnipro Center for Contemporary Culture (Dnipro, Ukraine)
Galagan Art Museum (Chernihiv, Ukraine)
UCLA Hammer Museum
Lyra Cinema (Kyiv, Ukraine)