“The Witness Jenya” A documentary told by fashion model and genocide survivor.

“The Witness Jenya” A documentary told by fashion model and genocide survivor.

“The Witness Jenya”, a new documentary based on the book ” One Woman, Five Lives, Five Countries”, by author , Yevhenia Sakervych ~ Dallas, is an extraordinarily courageous testimony of a young Christian girl’s life during the dawn of communism in the Ukraine. In “Witness Jenya”, Yevhenia, gives us a heart-wrenching and empowering account of her journey and narrow escape to freedom.

Actress Eugenia Dallas, the American spelling of the name Yevhenia, starting drawing late in life. She felt as if an Unknown Force had guided her hand to draw from her deep subconscious, buried images of the devastating, rape and pillaging of her family, home, and heritage.

In “The Witness Jenya”, Eugenia, a successful fashion model today, reflects through her writing and art work, a credible, tender child- like viewpoint of her experiences. As Eugenia narrates we see images of today’s beautiful Ukrainian countryside. In the center of the city is a statue of a young girl representing the children and the families of the Ukrainian farmers. Eugenia sees herself in that child.

Eugenia begins her story with letters and pictures of the family she has lost. She was only twelve years old when the communist authorities, under Stalin, came to her family’s home. They were seizing the properties of all the Ukrainian free farmers. Farmers, like her Father, who for generations had provided half the world’s bread, meat, milk and wine, were now thousands left homeless. They would have to submit to Stalin’s regime, denounce their freedom and their Christian faith. To establish further dominance, the authorities locked the farmers out of the city, leaving them without food, causing a man-made famine. Ten million souls perished in just fifteen months from starvation.

“The Witness Jenya”, is a heart breaking account of an unexplainable disease — man’s inhumanity to one another. Her journey from the Ukraine to Austria and escape to Italy; her climb from starvation and slave camps, to become a successful fashion model, is nothing less than empowering.

Eugenia’s road to survival is an amazing story of faith, courage and Grace. In her testimony she chronicles each of her family members tragic journey as she references the images of her parents and siblings from an old photograph. Each story carries a powerful punch as you hear in her voice the cost of her losses. But it is the story of Eugenia’s older sister and a woman’s gift of “restorative” kindness that may very well explain the Unknown Force which saved young Yevenia. No doubt it is that same Force which prompted her to draw and tell her story.

The Ukrainian people have lived in freedom the past twenty years-after seventy years of communism. “The Witness Jenya”, is the evidence of how life can renew itself. Just as through incredible courage, faith and Grace, Eugenia has.

Eugenia and filmmaker- producer Jeff Peyton use hauntingly beautiful music and pastoral landscapes to offset this story of the inhumane horror and tragedy of a young girl’s tumultuous childhood. They are currently in the process of making a narrative of Eugenia’s life; perhaps Animation? For more information or to contribute to this project go to: www.colorblindproductionsllc.com

Writer: Eugenia Dallas
Stars: Eugenia Dallas
Producer: Eugenia Dallas, Jeff Payton