Bunker. Stand Up Presentation

from Bunker!

AuthorMy name is Artur Petrov, I am a screenwriter and stand-up comedian from Ukraine. I hope that the creation of a documentary film about people who find the strength and inspiration to express bold thoughts and entertain people in a very difficult time is an important and necessary step towards the creation of a free, independent and democratic country.

I have been doing stand-up for eight years, I know all the characters of the film personally and understand the inner workings of Ukrainian stand-up comedy. The idea of creating this project appeared several years ago. But right now, stand-up comedy is booming and flourishing in Ukraine. Therefore, now is the time to tell the whole world about it.

What is this movie about.

First of all, I want to introduce to the audience the heroes of standup comedy in Ukraine. After all, to find out why this genre was not successful until now. Reasons why Ukrainian comedians were ignored by local television producers, and why all attempts to reach the national level ended in failure. To tell about the confrontation to popular stars of Russian television, for whom we were the warmup team at their concerts in our country. What is it to joke in bomb shelter during the war. About the charity concerts and stand-up in emigration. How, despite the circumstances, the genre of stand-up comedy becomes number one in Ukraine.

Stand-up comedy once revolutionized American comedy. Now it is making a cultural revolution in Ukraine. I believe that stand-up is a free, democratic western genre of comedy. It is about personality, about one's own opinion, about freedom and uniqueness. Today, stand-up is about Ukraine.

Genre: documentary film Duration: 60 minutes

EXTENDED SYNOPSIS

Kyiv. Zhovtnevy Palace.

Today here are two concerts in a row, both are sold out. Ukrainian standup comedians are performing. It is charity concerts, all the money will go to the Armed Forces and refugees. There have already been dozens of such concerts and the hall is always full. But even a year ago, local stand-up comedians performed as a “warm-up” for russian stand-up stars. Today they are ashamed of it. After all, when the full-scale invasion began, those comedians, with whom they stood on the same stage and admired of them, kept silent about the war now. They just pretended that nothing happened. As well the russian star Nurlan Saburov at a concert in the USA publicly insulted a Ukrainian woman who organized a flash mob at his concert. She came out in a bloody dress, symbolizing a russian soldiers violence. The comedian joked: "What is it, periods?". Two weeks before the full-scale invasion have been start, he performed here on the stage of the Zhovtnevy Palace, thanking Ukrainians for coming to his concert...

Vasyl Baidak is now standing behind the scenes. He was the first of the Ukrainian stand-up comedians who sold out Zhovtnevy, and causing astonishment by that. After all, only American or russian stand-up stars did it before.

Vasyl Baidak

Vasya Baidak is from Kharkiv and he has always been Russian-speaking. Even when the majority began to switch to Ukrainian, Vasya was in fierce opposition. But when the Russian troops started razing his city to the ground, he immediately switched to the Ukrainian one. Vasya’s first performance after the invasion was at military unit in Vinnytsia. His head is spinning: What to talk about? What to joke about? Maybe this is a bad idea and the humor is not at the time? But the very first joke turns into a burst of laughter. Then just a thought – into applause. An understanding immediately comes: it must be done. Vasya is the first stand-up comedian in Ukraine, who sold out Zhovtnevy, but he had to go to a trick for this. He made a zero concert. I didn’t earn anything at all, he says. Vasya divided the price for renting the hall into all seats, so the price of the ticket was from 20 cents to 1 dollar. He sold out in a week and became popular.

What to talk about? What to joke about? Maybe this is a bad idea and the humor is not at the time?

He gained his popularity during the war. We are in Sumy, where Felix is giving a tour at his hometown. The city is generally small, but he loves it very much. So much so that even for the sake of the comedian's career, he did not go from here to Kyiv. After all, in the capital – the main movement, you can perform 2-3 times a day, pumping the skil. But Felix decided to do comedy in his city. A week later, military actions raging in the city, he decided to do a concert right in the bomb shelter where he was hiding with his family. He recorded the concert and posted it on his YouTube channel. It gained more than half a million views in a few days. The mass media started talking about Felix. And everywhere in Ukraine, comedians began to perform concerts in bomb shelters, went down to the subway, where people in the first weeks are simply lived. After the russian troops left Sumy, Felix went on a tour of Ukraine, but not skipping the cities that were still under fire: Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv.

He recorded the concert and posted it on his YouTube channel. It gained more than half a million views in a few days. The mass media started talking about Felix.

Serhii Lipko

From the first days of the war, stand-up comedian Serhiy Lipko signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But at the time when he was in Kyiv, he immediately arranged a concert where he talked about his service in the Тerritorial defense. Tickets were sold out in a few hours. He spent all the seized funds on ammunition for his unit. Even on short vacations, when he comes from the front, he performs. He recently organized a big concert, writing in the description under the poster “if everything goes well, the concert will take place, if not, my friends will perform for me.” The fact is that at this very moment his unit was actively advancing on the front and he did not fully understand whether he would survive or not. Sergey has enough topics for jokes, about “adventure” at every day front. Serhiy is originally from Crimea, served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The comedian began his career with jokes about the army, often mocking the disorganization and disorder that existed there. He won the television project “Make a comedian laugh” with a joke: “So that you understand how strange everything is in the army. Next to us in the forest is a secret unit of the Security Service of Ukraine. But next to it – a bus stop with the name “Secret unit of the Security Service of Ukraine”.

From time to time, he got paid for such jokes. But when Serhii had to go to defend the country, he completely changed his attitude towards the army. Although the army itself has already changed. The day before he was sent to the front, he married his girlfriend, stand-up comedian Nastya Zukhvala.

"If everything goes well, the concert will take place, if not, my friends will perform for me."

Natalia Garipova

As a child, Natalka had to flee from war at the unrecognized republic of Transnistria. She settled with her parents in Odessa. Worked on the radio, as a screenwriter and presenter on television, played in KVK, a popular Soviet humorous program. In Ukraine, most comedians started with KVK. After all, the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, started from it as the same. Natalka saw her creative future in Moscow for a long time. Took part in many russian humorous projects. But at some point she realized that she wanted to do comedy in Ukraine. On February 24, when a war have started, and russian missiles were flying all over the country, Natalya was one of the first who recorded an appeal to the russians. She turned to her friends and colleagues with whom she worked, lived and performed, but received only silence in response. She became one of the participants of the charity project “Good evening, we are from Ukraine”. Performing at dozens of concerts around the world and collecting aid for Ukrainian refugees. Natalia refugee herself now, with a little daughter in her arms.

Natalya was one of the first who recorded an appeal to the russians. She turned to her friends and colleagues with whom she worked, lived and performed, but received only silence in response.

Nastya Zukhvala Yulia Onishchenko

Previously, Nastya was "Nastya Derzkaya (Cheeky)". But after the full-scale invasion of Russia has began, the girl changed her pseudonym to a Ukrainian one. Now she is "Nastya Zukhvala", so she decided to completely break her connection with everything russian. Comedian has been performing exclusively in Ukrainian for less than a year. Today she tours Ukraine and Europe with concerts, collecting money for the Armed Forces and her husband's unit. They got married the day before he was sent to the front and he is also a stand-up comedian.

6 million people left Ukraine. Among them are female comedians. Yulia Onishchenko from Odesa came to Berlin after the invasion. Here she was able to get a job as a bartender in a local bar. After some time, she offered the owner to hold stand-up concerts in English, German and Ukrainian.

Gradually, the girl began to organize standup concerts for the Ukrainian community throughout Europe, uniting all the girls who left for charity concerts. And now going to buy a stand-up bar where she works.

Today she tours Ukraine and Europe with concerts, collecting money for the Armed Forces and her husband's unit.

Gradually, the girl began to organize stand-up concerts for the Ukrainian community throughout Europe, uniting all the girls who left for charity concerts.

Anton Tymoshenko Andriy Shchegel

Andriy is one of the first stand-up comedians whose performances began to be based on a national-patriotic idea. He switched to Ukrainian and hyped a bit on this topic. He was on tour in Europe at the time of the invasion. But when everything started, he immediately returned to Ukraine. In an interview with a well-known blogger, Andrii defiantly said: "I just didn't want to miss the coolest adventure in my life." Andrii started to joke about war and patriotism quite harshly, which caused the indignation of his fans. For example, he made fun of the fact that he didn't like that some Instagram girl started posting videos about the war. After all, that's not why he signed up for her. She used to show off her beautiful ass from the gym, and now she's whining about military battle. As a fact, he doesn’t donate on the Armed Forces from stream concerts, which infuriates the stand-up community. Andrii replies that it's all bullshit. He does what he thinks as needed.

Anton performs in English in a Kyiv bar. "I'm sorry that I'll be looking into my phone a little bit, because I wrote this recently, and my English is not perfect yet". In the second month of the war, Anton recorded a standup about the war in Ukraine in English. And it was reposted on Twitter by the iconic British comedian Dara O'Brien. Anton says that this is cool, since hundreds of thousands of subscribers of the British comedian have heard about the war in Ukraine.

Andriy became a fierce opponent of the standup community, because he believes that they are parasites on the topic of war and charity, and he remained faithful to stand-up comedy and tells not what others are expected from him. Also, fans were outraged that the comedian wants to leave the country as soon as the borders are opened. He still has many fans, but there are many critics and even haters who threaten him. The comedian spent his last performances hiring a security.

Anton recorded a stand-up about the war in Ukraine in English. And it was reposted on Twitter by the iconic British comedian Dara O'Brien.

There are many critics and even haters who threaten him. The comedian spent his last performances hiring a security.

Kyrylo Mazur

Kyrylo held the title of the youngest comedian of Ukraine for several years. The 16-year-old boy quickly became popular. Everyone was bribed by the fact that he is so “youth” but aptly jokes. Three years later, Kyrylo became a popular comedian and he felt cramped in Ukraine. He always dreamed of Moscow and stand-up on TNT chanel. And such an opportunity arose, he went to the “Open Microphone” project and made it to the finals. Little by little, he began to conquer stages in Moscow. Performing with his idols every day.

On February 24, a full-scale war began. All his friends and colleagues in Ukraine shouted and talked about the war. But he wrote a small post about peace –and nothing more. Acquaintances called and said: come back, you are in the aggressors country. But Kyrylo made his choice: he stayed in Moscow for his career, because he decided to become a famous russian stand-up comedian. At the same time, when Russian troops bombed his parents’ house near Kyiv. In order not to receive a messages, Kyrylo blocked a lot of friends in socials.

But Kyrylo made his choice: he stayed in Moscow for his career, because he decided to become a famous russian stand-up comedian. At the same time, when Russian troops bombed his parents house near Kyiv.

Kyiv. Zhovtnevy Palace.

The presenter announces the end of the concert, inviting all the comedians to the stage. These are all our heroes of the film. A bow Applause. Invitations to the following events. Thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we have the opportunity to live and laugh today.