Scripted Series / Drama

Those Who Stayed

PLAY


Those Who Stayed is a unique drama anthology series for our time, inspired by true events which happened in Kyiv in the first few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A heartfelt, heartwarming new drama about dignity, humanity and hope.

As the brutal war got underway, every second person left Kyiv. Yet every second person remained. These are their stories – variously moving, funny, sad, stark, unsettling, and uplifting.

Each episode has a different gifted Ukrainian filmmaker at the helm, along with its own set of main characters and a unique story. However, sometimes the paths of characters from other episodes cross through chance encounters, creating a memorable shared universe and unity of time and place.

Amongst the dramatic and sometimes humorous stories are Olga, her two kids and her husband, forced to live in one room with her ex-husband; Klaus, a young German doctor who travels to Ukraine to rescue a friend, only to find out she has no intention of leaving, and Verka Serduchka, a famous singer and drag act who stays put, without his usual entourage, and creates daily online posts that become a symbol of Kyiv’s resistance and faith in future triumph.

Screeners

Programme Details

DURATION
6 × 30'
ORIGINAL BROADCASTER
1+1 Media
AVAILABLE IN
HD
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
Ukrainian
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Seven.One Studios International