The idea was to show that if we need to have an open an honest conversation about the Volhynia Massacre and that the film “Volhynia” is an opportunity to face this difficult issue and start talking about it. We wanted to show that “Volhynia” is about building bridges not walls.

Before the official premiere of “Volhynia” we’ve organized a special screening for people who have already built their bridges – Polish-Ukrainian couples. After the screening we’ve recorded interviews which were edited into a short online video. The couples told their stories, how did they feel about Volhynia, how did they like the film “Volhynia” and how do they feel about Volhynia ater seeing the movie. The short video was uploaded online (the distributor’s Facebook page and YouTube channel) and distributed to journalists. The video was also shown and sent to film critics during the official premiere at the movie festival in Gdynia – the largest film festival in Poland.

With no media budget and a production budget of EUR 8 000, the interviews were seen, shared in discussed by an estimated audience of 1 500 000 people. All major film and culture websites in Poland shared the video. It was also published on the main page of the largest online information websites in Poland. The video was also shown and discussed by major TV stations. One of them even shown the video in it’s entirety.

Despite the distributor’s concenrs, “Volhynia” broke the Polish box office. It went on to become the highest grossing Polish film of 2016 and the fourth highest grossing overall. It even surpassed major Hollywood blockbusters such as “Deadpool” and “Suicide Squads”.