Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics

2DORSSES15
Director:Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko
Premiere:24. February 2026
Length:59 minutes
Genre:Document

Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics

Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics; Francis Farrell,Olena Zashko, versions: OR,SS,ES, languages: eng, ukr

We Stand With Ukraine (film screening + discussion with the authors)

Director: Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko

Witnessing an endless conveyor belt of severe injuries and deaths since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has taken a heavy toll on the medics’ mental health. Although crucial to address, the issue of their psychological well-being is rarely talked about and often overlooked, leaving them alone in this invisible battle.

The film’s authors Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko followed a group of Ukrainian military medics as they journeyed from the heat of battle in war-torn Ukraine to the serene forests of Sweden for a short mental health retreat. As they find themselves in a peaceful, quiet environment in Sweden for the first time since 2022, the medics have a chance to process the accumulated trauma, opening up about losing brothers-in-arms, surviving Russian captivity, and the inescapable feeling of guilt for not being able to save some of the soldiers they treated.

“Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics” took more than nine months to produce, involving multiple trips to the front line in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as a 10-day visit to Sweden.

The retreat was organized by Repower NGO. Given unprecedented permission from the Ukrainian high command, Repower takes hand-picked groups of medics for mental health retreats in Sweden, Denmark, and Spain. Since the organization’s founding in 2023, 1200 military medics have participated in their program.

Partners of the screening:
Embassy of Sweden in Vienna
Embassy of Ukraine in the Slovak Republic
The Kyiv Independent

Length: 59 min

Local premiere date: 24. February 2026

Country of origin:

  • Sweden
  • Ukraine

Language version:

OR - Original version (english, ukrainian)
SS - Slovak subtitles
ES - English subtitles
2DSS

24. 2. Tuesday

0,00 18:30

We Stand With Ukraine (film screening + discussion with the authors)

Director: Francis Farrell, Olena Zashko

Witnessing an endless conveyor belt of severe injuries and deaths since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has taken a heavy toll on the medics’ mental health. Although crucial to address, the issue of their psychological well-being is rarely talked about and often overlooked, leaving them alone in this invisible battle.

The film’s authors Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko followed a group of Ukrainian military medics as they journeyed from the heat of battle in war-torn Ukraine to the serene forests of Sweden for a short mental health retreat. As they find themselves in a peaceful, quiet environment in Sweden for the first time since 2022, the medics have a chance to process the accumulated trauma, opening up about losing brothers-in-arms, surviving Russian captivity, and the inescapable feeling of guilt for not being able to save some of the soldiers they treated.

“Can You Hear Me? The Invisible Battles of Ukrainian Military Medics” took more than nine months to produce, involving multiple trips to the front line in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as a 10-day visit to Sweden.

The retreat was organized by Repower NGO. Given unprecedented permission from the Ukrainian high command, Repower takes hand-picked groups of medics for mental health retreats in Sweden, Denmark, and Spain. Since the organization’s founding in 2023, 1200 military medics have participated in their program.

Partners of the screening:
Embassy of Sweden in Vienna
Embassy of Ukraine in the Slovak Republic
The Kyiv Independent

Local premiere date: 24. February 2026

Country of origin:

  • Sweden
  • Ukraine

Language version:

OR - Original version (english, ukrainian)
SS - Slovak subtitles
ES - English subtitles


Programme

2DSS

24. 2. Tuesday

K2
0,00 18:30