Film Screening in the Cinema
The St. Barbara Parish in Vienna organized a screening of the film about the Hero of Ukraine, Dmytro Kotsiubailo. Oksana rented the hall, arranged autographs from Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and raised 3345 euros for the Da Vinci Wolves battalion.
An Image Project for the Parish
At the end of September 2024, the St. Barbara Church parish received an email requesting help in organizing a documentary film screening in Vienna. Father Taras Shahala forwarded the email to me and asked for assistance. I took on the task with full energy, as it was about showing an important film about the late Hero of Ukraine, Dmytro Kotsiubailo, better known by his call sign “Da Vinci.”
We were approached by the Secretariat of the Association of Ukrainian Banks — an organization lobbying for the interests of Ukraine’s banking sector in the Cabinet of Ministers and Verkhovna Rada. The Association became a partner in the film project, securing charitable support from 20 financial institutions with a project budget of 1.57 million hryvnias.
Given the film’s significance and its patriotic message, I suggested negotiating with the local cinema, Burgkino. Initially, I contacted the public organization YOUkraine, which had prior experience securing free cinema rentals. Unfortunately, the cinema declined due to a packed schedule, so we had to find Plan B.
Support from Ukrainian Organizations in Austria and Targeted Advertising
I turned to Oleksandra Saienko, an expert in PR and organizing cultural events who runs UStream. She inspired me to rent a professional hall, sell tickets, and suggested using the Eventbrite platform. We calculated that with a hall capacity of 185 seats and rental costs of 990 euros for two hours, selling 66 tickets would be enough to cover the expenses. We agreed that ticket sales would cover the rental, and all remaining proceeds would go to charity for the Da Vinci Wolves battalion.
After inviting hundreds of guests and posting announcements wherever possible, I held my breath. But the effort paid off — within four days, people had bought 70 tickets.
Through personal contacts, I managed to arrange for someone, who remained anonymous, to get postcards signed by the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. This person traveled to the Ukrainian Embassy in London, where Zaluzhnyi is currently based, and secured a signed Ukrainian flag and postcards for all European cities hosting the screening.
Sold Out a Week Before the Event
In the following week, ticket sales slowed down. When only 50 tickets were left, my husband Rostyslav and I decided to launch targeted Instagram ads. Within three days, 30 more tickets were sold, and the remaining tickets were sold out a week before the screening: 150 tickets were sold, and 35 seats were reserved for honored guests.
On the day of the event, I had to deliver the opening speech, as neither Father Taras nor Father Oleh could represent the parish. It was the first time I enjoyed speaking before a large audience. After the screening, we held a postcard raffle, and the winner was Olena Tys, one of the co-founders of the Ukrainian Saturday School in Vienna. Closing remarks were delivered by Andrii Dubas, President of the Association of Ukrainian Banks, and Nazar Borushok, the film’s producer.
The charity screening in Vienna was a success: the parish managed to transfer 1180 euros from ticket sales (after deducting 990 euros for hall rental) and collect an additional 2165 euros in cash, totaling 3345 euros. This amount was donated to support the Da Vinci Wolves battalion.