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The story of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus is one of incredible courage and true grit - a vivid chronicle that celebrates the human spirit. This is the triumphant story of the original seventeen members of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus who were transported to slave-labour camps in Germany in 1942 and survived one of the most horrific periods in the history of the modern world - World War II.

They were gifted musicians and poets who defied the odds while performing for multitudes of Ukrainians across Europe in the years the war ensued. Through harrowing adventures these men and their families made their way to displaced persons camps and eventually across the ocean to freedom in North America in 1949. This is the story of the Ukrainian spirit that never gave up, a story of incredible heroism - the story of ‘Living Strings’.

The story will focus on Ukraine’s national instrument, the bandura - the centerpiece and heartbeat being the history of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus. Sequences in the documentary will include a historical retrospective of the bandura, interviews with past and present members of the UBC and renowned bandurists in North America and Ukraine. Plans include coverage of the UBC in concert, filming of North American bandura camps for children, combined with archival film footage - all portrayed through a geographical re-trace of the path the early Chorus followed on their musical journey through Ukraine, Germany, Austria, and eventually to freedom in North America.

The film will provide an educational as well as entertaining, informative and emotionally gripping perspective - the personal stories inter cut with the collective history of the bandura throughout the ages. What would be heralded throughout this film will be the celebration of the human spirit and the vibrant role the bandura has continued to perform in Ukrainian culture and history. It will illustrate the bandurist as bard, as seer, as spiritual emissary for the soul of the Ukrainian people, then and now, in Ukraine and beyond.

The Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, whole-heartedly supports this project and has committed initial production funding. The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus also enthusiastically embraces the film.