The Advertising Producer Helping Ukraine's War Effort

Right up to the moment their country was invaded, the team at Ukrainian production company Limelite was still preparing for a shoot, with a group ready to head to the airport to fly out. Those plans were disrupted, however, when Russian troops began crossing the border. They never got to their flight. Taxi drivers refused to take them, fearing for their safety, as the bombs began to fall. Within the span of a few days, Vlad Bolyelov’s life has changed beyond recognition. The executive producer and managing partner for Limelite has gone from preparing for that ill-fated shoot to delivering his mother, pregnant wife and dog to gain safe passage while remaining in Ukraine, now the legal requirement for men between the ages of 16-60. “We were just overcoming the whole pandemic situation and we have been struggling, as there was no support in Ukraine for a company like ours, so we had to work a lot on just getting where we are,” Bolyelov explained of the sudden demand his business experienced, including shooting a commercial for Mercedes. “We started having a good year from summer 2021 … It was quite intense.” Crisis in Ukraine: How Brands Are Stepping Up to Help As the company was starting to thrive again at the end of last year, rumors began spreading of a Russian invasion, which scared off agency clients who otherwise might shoot in Ukraine. “Everyone was sure nothing was going to happen,” Bolyelov said, but agencies refused to take the chance. Losing work continually, the team at Limelite reached out to other production companies to discuss the projects being lost, saying they should advise clients that the warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin were merely “an economic bluff.” One client proceeded with a project on the basis of that advice but, as rumors persisted this year, they asked to relocate the project to Georgia where Limelite had a production partnership in place. Casting, locations and crew were all finalized and plane tickets were purchased for everyone by the producers. The agency guys called us the next day in tears telling us to forget about the project, but we shared all the contacts so that if the network was down, they could communicate without us.Vlad Bolyelov, executive producer for Limelite Productions “This is what you do in production,” Bolyelov said. “You cover all the scenarios, even if you think it’s not going to happen.” That included documenting the entire approach to the shoot in case they needed to hand it over in the event the production fell through. On Feb. 24, the worst-case scenario happened. “The agency guys called us the next day in tears telling us to forget about the project, but we shared all the contacts so that if the network was down, they could communicate without us,” Bolyelov said. “It was fucking insane.” “Saving the project is always the first priority for anyone in production,” he added. The need to evacuate Bolyelov and his family evacuated from the capital of Kyiv on the third day of the war to a more remote part of the country—his hometown, the western city Rivne, where his mother lives. It is also the area where aid from Poland is being received and distributed. Ivan Bolyelov and his family together after leaving Kyiv. Following an attack on one of the country’s nuclear power plants, however, the family made the difficult decision that the women had to find safety elsewhere, as they were situated within 100 kilometers of where the Belarusian army could invade if it moved to support Putin’s troops. The trip was hampered by the imposed limit of 20 liters of gas sold to each customer at fuel stations; it took four visits to fill the car’s gas tank. They made the nine-hour journey to the small city of Chop on the Hungarian border, where they knew lines were shorter than at the Polish border. “I dropped them off at the train station. They waited in line, which was 150 people, and, within two or three hours, they were on a train to the Hungarian side of the border—where they went on to Budapest where they are right now with friends,” Bolyelov said. “It’s a relief for me.” Joining the war effort After queuing at the local territorial defense center at Rivne and being told that their services were not yet needed, Bolyelov has been staying with friends who have been volunteering with a local group unpacking and delivering aid donated by farmers, including bread and hundreds of bags of potatoes or jams. He has also been helping relay information to international contacts about what is needed in terms of aid. “There was a huge supply from local producers and regular people,” he said. “One old lady even brought a bag that only had an extension cord. People are bringing whatever they have. So, at first, there was a big supply that we accumulated at this coordination center, which we have been sending out to an army base or to refugee centers or schools. We’ve been sending food and blankets and that sort of stuff." The distribution of aid at the center. They have begun sending supplies to hard-hit areas, such as Kyiv and Kharkiv, where food and medicine are most in need. Bolyelov is also helping ferry women and children closer to the border, even as his concerns grow about an impending humanitarian catastrophe. Supplies being delivered to the center. “I foresee there is going to become a moment where we are not going to have enough medicine and drinks—and I’m not sure these general donation sites are the right way to donate,” he said. “I am sure in the very near future there will be another fundraising, but one that will be directed to getting that kind of stuff, because the refugees that ran away don’t have any money to feed themselves.” The local and international response Bolyelov admits that people are afraid the news being reported in the country is not accurate, having not seen many foreign reporters in the region where he now lives. He has also been inundated with messages of support from other members of his production company, agencies, production staff and former clients, including one woman from the U.S. he worked with on a Vaseline commercial 13 years ago. He is heartened by the sentiments and said it takes him out of the news for a little bit each day. The response of our country has been just amazing. The country has united like never before. People have been offering help, but Bolyelov choses not to offer guidance on any charitable donation sites just yet. “It’s been so little time to be able to formulate what is the best way to help us … I am asking everyone to hold on because I want to understand myself the best way,” Bolyelov said. “If it’s to donate money to some company, I don’t know because I don’t think they are agile enough to meet the needs. Right now, there are a lot of people who have been left with nothing and they need to be fed.” Bottles being stockpiled. Bolyelov admits he and his family were no fans of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prior to the Russian invasion, but have been impressed by his resolve. He also feels real pride in the Ukrainian people, whom he sees standing in peaceful protest before Russian troops each day, despite knowing they might be shot. “There was an East and a West divide, but that is no more,” he said. “Every city is Ukrainian and we want to be in Ukraine, which has been quite prosperous, developing in a very different way. Zelensky was paying a lot of attention to what European leaders wanted him to do and he was doing it. The response of our country has been just amazing. The country has united like never before.” In Ukraine, We as Creatives Now Have One Assignment: Defend Our Land and Stop the War