This concept has become even more relevant for our video production company Luminance since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Over the past years, our creativity has taken on exactly this form.
At the start of the war, we were confused—just like everyone else. We started helping by delivering humanitarian aid to soldiers on the front lines. After several months, we realized that we could contribute most effectively by doing what we do best: creating video works that convey important ideas to audiences and spread them around the world. We came to understand that even creativity in such times must be meaningful and socially beneficial.
Through these videos, we helped raise donations for charitable foundations that support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as veterans who have suffered amputations.
One of our first projects was titled “Ukraine Has Grown Up.” The idea for this video came to us in May 2022, when we realized that life would never be the same again. The entire country was forced to grow up in a very short time, under the metallic roar of war. This realization became the foundation of the project.
Then came collaborations with various foundations, as well as large and small social projects. In particular, in 2024 we launched a social campaign we are especially proud of — “Manifesto of the Strong,” aimed at supporting and raising funds for prosthetics for veterans with amputations.
In this video, our main character is veteran Oleksandr Chayka. In the past a choreographer and acrobat, he lost his leg in the Donetsk region. The Future for UkraineFoundation helped Oleksandr receive a modern leg prosthesis and supported him throughout his rehabilitation. Today, he has opened his own acrobatics school for children, where he teaches not only physical skills, but also perseverance, hard work, and how to achieve goals and overcome challenges.
We were deeply moved by Oleksandr’s story and his incredible will to live. In our short film, we show the viewer the journey a soldier goes through—from injury to returning to everyday life—and the trials that must be overcome along the way.
The premiere of this video took place in a cinema, followed by a panel discussion with representatives of Ukrainian business. The discussion focused on the systemic reintegration of veterans into society.
This video was seen by people in many countries around the world. With its help, funds were raised to provide high-quality prosthetics for veterans with severe amputations.
These and many other similar topics have become part of our everyday reality—something we face daily. And we, Ukrainians, will never be the same again. Our worldview and our way of thinking have changed.
This is what we convey to the world through our socially responsible creativity.
Antonina Sotnikova & Denys Stehnii
Founders of the video production company Luminance
Ukraine, Kyiv
