I NEVER HAD DREAMS OF MY SON

I Never Had Dreams of My Son is a stark reminder that war is comprised of a million private devastations, each one echoing for years

ABOUT THE FILM

In August 2014, Oleksii Shevliuha disappeared during the Battle of Ilovaisk in eastern Ukraine. Five years later, his father searches for Oleksii through Ukrainian folklore and modern technology. Many hundreds of YouTube videos later, he catches sight of an imprisoned man resembling his son.

Directed by Jason Blevins

Premiere: March 9, 2022 on New Yorker Magazine

Genre: Documentary Film

Countries of origin: Ukraine, USA

Production company: See-K Cooperative

AWARDS
WATCH THE MOVIE
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

In the spring of 2014, we met Oleksii Shevliuha while he was a Ukrainian activist occupying Kyiv’s central square. He was a sincere individual who cared passionately for better country. We lost touch as he joined the war effort that summer. Sometime in 2017, I learned that shortly after our final meeting with Oleksii, he had gone missing in the Battle of Ilovaisk.

Having several hours of footage of him, we tracked down his father, Oleksandr. It was during our first meeting with Oleksandr that he surprised us with print outs of a POW march in Donetsk, Ukraine. He pointed to one captured soldier and said, “This is my son.”

Producer Olena Lysenko and I knew we had to do something to bring not only Oleksandr and Oleksii’s story to the world, but that of anyone whose lives have been touched by conflict and war.

PRESS

“Oleksii Shevliuha has been missing since 2014, when he went to fight pro-Russia separatists in the east. Jason Blevins and Olena Lysenko’s “I Never Had Dreams of My Son” follows the father who has never stopped searching for him.” Read The New Yorker Magazine article by Anna Kordunsky

FILM STILLS
FILM CREDITS

Directed by: Jason Blevins

Produced by: Olena Lysenko | Jason Blevins | Varvara Degtiarenko

Associate Producer: Danush Parvaneh

Cinematography by Jason Blevins

Additional Photography by: Noemi Charlotte Thieves | Darius “Ddog” Escandar

Editor: Jason Blevins 

Assistant Editors: Olena Lysenko | Katie Kelley

Translations: Anna Tsybko | Olena Lysenko

Post Production Sound: Otthouse Audio

Production Services: SEE-K Cooperative

Ilovaisk footage provided by Andrii Dzyndzia

Additional Music by Tucha

Special Thanks: David Berry | The Blevins Family | Yuri Bukiia | Elan Golod | Hennadii Kurilov | Roman Lanovyi | Volodymyr Lysenko | Michaell Purcell | Dale Roberts | Maria Tsypiashchuk

Executive Producer, The New Yorker Soo-Jeong Kang

Supervising Producer, The New Yorker Yara Bishara 

Producer, The New Yorker Christopher Hwisu Kim

Exceptionally well told, emotional story with an unexpected plot twist. The documentary, which portrays one man’s painful journey, is a symbol of the sacrifices of the entire Ukrainian people, but especially of their faith in peace and freedom — Kyiv International Short Film Festival

FESTIVAL HISTORY
MAKING OF
CONTACTS

Producer Olena Lysenko

olena.v.lysenko@gmail.com

WhatsApp: +380506948452