Documentary

01:06:19

Canada

Steven Brese, Oleksandr Pankieiev

Synopsis:

What does it mean to be a Ukrainian newcomer in Alberta, Canada? A film crew followed four Ukrainian families over a year in Edmonton and Calgary as they navigated the challenges of rebuilding their lives after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Horizons of Belonging is a deeply personal exploration of identities, displacement and belonging, shedding light on what it means to be a modern Ukrainian, and ‘start over’ in a new country.

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY

Steven Brese is an Edmonton-based visual storyteller with a background in media production. After earning an MA in Contemporary Ethics from the University of London, Heythrop College, he worked for four years in Ukrainian television in Kyiv before returning to Canada. Steven is the co-founder and director of Londyn Legacy Films, a production company that works with families to create narrative-driven, time-capsule films. His passion lies in capturing human stories that inspire and resonate. Horizons of Belonging is the first feature-length documentary film that Steven has produced and it’s the first time he has co-directed with his colleague and friend, Oleksandr Pankieiev.

Oleksandr Pankieiev is the President of both the Ukrainian Film Festival in Alberta and the Alberta Society for the Advancement of Ukrainian Studies. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Forum for Ukrainian Studies, an analytical publication of the Contemporary Ukraine Studies Program at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS), University of Alberta. He also teaches in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta. Pankieiev has authored numerous books and scholarly articles exploring Ukrainian culture, media, and history, and has directed several ethnographic films. His latest book, Narratives of the Russo-Ukrainian War: A Look Within and Without, was published in 2025.