CUBA & ALASKA Director Yegor Troyanovsky, currently serving in Special Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, will be present for the film’s Q/A
Ukrainian Army frontline medics ‘Cuba’ and ‘Alaska’, the two stars of the feature documentary, are already in-person at the festival
See-Through Films has confirmed Filmmaker Yegor Troyanovsky, whose feature documentary CUBA & ALASKA is world premiering at Sheffield Doc Fest, is currently traveling to Sheffield from his active military service in the Ukraine Army’s Special Forces.
As of late Thursday, June 20, 2025, Troyanovsky had successfully crossed the Ukrainian border and was expected to arrive at the festival in time for the film’s second screening Q/A. The screening is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st at The Light-Screen 9, at 10:15am.
The film profiles best-friends “Cuba” & “Alaska”, two wisecracking medics on Ukraine’s frontline, living the same battlefield story as all soldiers: slowly losing connections with friends, family and their previous lives the longer they stand up for Ukraine. In a place where laughter is armor and friendship is survival, can the two ever go back to the life they used to know?
‘Cuba’ (Yulia Sidorova) and ‘Alaska’ (Olexandra) had already arrived in the UK ahead of the film’s world premiere screening on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Both were welcomed at the Ukrainian Embassy in London by the Ukraine Ambassador.
“”It is a great honor for me to meet the heroines of this deep and sincere film. These women are true symbols of the strength of the Ukrainian people. In the most difficult times, they demonstrate courage, resilience and boundless love for Ukraine. Their stories are about the struggle for freedom, dignity and life. It is thanks to such people that Ukraine holds on, and the world sees that we are fighting not only for our land, but for values common to all civilized humanity. I thank the authors of the film for this extremely important work, which helps Europe and the world better understand Ukraine and its indomitable people,” said General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ambassador of Ukraine.
CUBA & ALASKA is a raw and intimate profile of two Ukrainian medics from the frontlines of the war that captures the funny; the arcane, and the painfully tragic times that make up a soldier’s emotional journey during wartime. Body cams, cell phones, and the director’s camera fill in the story between the constant danger, bouts of survivors’ guilt, and a longing to ‘go back’ – to return to the life they had when dreams were still possible. Fueled by the enormously contagious laughter from Cuba, and the dark black humor of Alaska, the two best friends face down the unknown together with a warrior fierceness befitting Thelma & Louise.
For More Information
Julieta Esteban
julietaesteban@gmail.com
Kathleen McInnis,
See-Through Films
k.mcinnis@see-throughfilms.com
