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Filmmaker Vanessa Black Gives Ukraine's Crisis A Human Face

This Filmmaker Documented The People Manning Kiev's Barricades
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By 

World Reporter, The Huffington Post

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During Ukraine's recent political crisis, young American filmmaker Vanessa Black went to Kiev to document the people at the center of the protest movement.

Her project, #UkraineRising, aims to show the real human stories behind the demonstrations that toppled president Viktor Yanukovych in February.

Black chronicled the chaotic aftermath of Yanukovych's fall for Elite Daily, a news site aiming to let young people build conversations around the news. Black's poignant stories from Kiev, which will be made into a feature film, are being showcased by Elite Daily as part of the series “Millennials Making A Difference.”

As Ukraine grapples with Crimean secession and pro-Russian unrest in eastern cities, Black's portraits are a moving tribute to the Ukrainians bravely facing an uncertain future.

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Before You Go

Trouble In Ukraine's East
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Pro-Russian activists at the entrance of the regional Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 9, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists hold a US flag signed 'Stop' at the regional security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Various leaders of the pro-Russian activists in Lugansk take part in a press conference inside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 11, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists stand outside the regional security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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An armed pro-Russian activist stands guards at a window with a placard reading 'We are for the president Vladimir' in the regional Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 9, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists wait inside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian activist sleeps inside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014.(GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People pass by policemen's shields not far from the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on April 9, 2014. (ANATOLIY STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists sit in front a barricade outside the regional security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists gesture as they guard the entrance of the regional Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 9, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian activist holds an icon as she stands near a barricade set in front of regional state administrative building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on April 9, 2014. (Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists talk next to a barricade outside the regional security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian activist, looks under a fence into the riot police base during their training session in eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on April 9, 2014. (Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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One of the leaders of the pro-Russian group who seized the regional Security Service building speaks to the press in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, on April 9, 2014. (IGOR GOLOVNIOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A man walks by a barricade set up by pro-Russian activists in front of regional state administrative building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on April 9, 2014. (Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian activist prepares a mobile stove for cooking near a barricade blocking access to the Ukrainian Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian opposition (front) and a Russian flag fly near the destroyed Ukrainian coat of arms at the security service headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014, after pro-Russian militants took control of the building. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists stand guard at a barricade as they block access to the Ukrainian Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists sit next to a barricade outside the regional security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 10, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian activist carries wood to a barricade erected in front of the security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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An elderly woman looks at the Russian flag set up by pro-Russian activists at a barricade blocking access to the Ukrainian Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian activist sets up a tent near a barricade blocking access to the Ukrainian Security Service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Pro-Russian activists carry wood to a barricade erected in front of the security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 8, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A picture taken on April 7, 2014 in Luhansk shows a barricade set by pro-Russian activists at the regional Security Service building. (IGOR GOLOVNIOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Police officers stand guard on April 5, 2014 at the regional office of the Ukrainian Security Service in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk during a rally of Pro-Russia supporters demanding the release of their detained leaders, pro-Moscow activist Arsen Klinchev and pro-Russian local parliament member Alexander Kharitonov. (IGOR GOLOVNIOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People wave Russian flags during a rally on April 5, 2014 in front of the regional office of the Ukrainian Security Service in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, demanding the release of their detained leaders, pro-Moscow activist Arsen Klinchev and pro-Russian local parliament member Alexander Kharitonov. (IGOR GOLOVNIOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Armed policemen guard the entrance of the Donbass TV company in central Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on April 9, 2014. (Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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