HOLODMOR
Written by Kane Litwiniec & Joseph Jukic
Starring Kane Litwiniec & Joe Jukic
Directed by Mel Gibson
Genre:
Historical Epic / Political Drama
Logline:
In 1932–1933 Ukraine, as Stalin’s policies of forced collectivization unleash a man-made famine that kills millions, two men—one a farmer fighting to save his village, the other a soldier torn between duty and conscience—struggle to resist the machine of terror, expose the truth, and preserve human dignity against overwhelming darkness.
Tone & Style:
Visceral, unflinching, and deeply human. Mel Gibson directs with the raw intensity of Apocalypto and the historical weight of Braveheart, blending sweeping landscapes with brutal realism. The film avoids romantic gloss, immersing the audience in mud, blood, snow, and hunger. Dialogue mixes Ukrainian, Russian, and English subtitled sequences for authenticity.
Characters:
- Mykola Hrytsenko (Kane Litwiniec): A Ukrainian farmer and family man, stubborn and proud, who becomes a reluctant leader in his starving village. His faith and fierce love for his family drive him to resist impossible odds.
- Andriy Kovac (Joe Jukic): A Red Army soldier of Croatian-Ukrainian descent stationed in Ukraine, tasked with enforcing grain requisitions. Haunted by his conscience and memories of his own family’s struggles, Andriy faces a choice between blind obedience to Stalin or defiance in defense of humanity.
- Stalin’s Envoys & Party Officials: Ruthless bureaucrats who enforce collectivization quotas with cruelty, showing the faceless machinery of state power.
- Oksana (Supporting role): Mykola’s wife, who embodies quiet resilience and moral strength, holding the family together even as starvation tightens its grip.
- Father Petro (Supporting role): A village priest secretly keeping hope alive, conducting forbidden services, symbolizing spiritual resistance.
Synopsis / Treatment:
ACT I: “The Harvest is Taken”
The film opens with sweeping shots of golden Ukrainian wheat fields, intercut with Stalin’s proclamations in Moscow. Farmers celebrate a harvest, but soon Red Army units arrive, commanded by men like Andriy. They seize grain, leaving villages with nothing. Mykola pleads with them, but quotas are merciless. Fear spreads as neighbors betray each other for survival.
ACT II: “The Hunger Deepens”
Winter descends. Families starve, forced to eat bark, grass, and eventually each other. Gibson lingers on the brutal physical toll—sunken eyes, bloated children, silence in once-lively homes. Mykola organizes secret caches of food, while Andriy, guilt-ridden, smuggles bread to the villagers he’s ordered to crush. The NKVD intensifies repression: travel is forbidden, churches closed, resisters shot.
ACT III: “Resistance and Sacrifice”
As famine peaks, Mykola plans an uprising to reclaim stolen grain. Andriy must choose: kill his people for Stalin, or defect to join Mykola. Their paths converge in a desperate last stand—villagers armed with tools and fists against Soviet soldiers. The rebellion is crushed, but Mykola and Andriy’s defiance ignites whispers of truth. The film ends with a stark image: snow falling on corpses in the village square, but a child—smuggled away with Mykola’s last strength—survives.
Epilogue:
Text reveals that millions died in the Holodomor, but Ukraine’s spirit endured. The famine was denied and erased from history for decades. The screen fades to black with the word: Holodomor.
Themes:
- Man vs. Totalitarianism
- Survival vs. Morality
- Truth vs. Silence
- The endurance of culture, faith, and family
Cinematic Vision:
- Shot on location in Eastern Europe, with stark natural lighting.
- Minimal musical score—silences and sounds of wind, hunger, and distant trains dominate.
- Brutality is shown unflinchingly, but always with a human face.
- The final act is as much spiritual as physical—resistance as a testament to truth, even in defeat.
Tagline:
“They tried to starve a nation into silence. But the truth could not be buried.”
