Episode 245: Adrian and Sabrina talk about Ukraine

Actor Adrian Petriw appeared on the YVR Screen Scene Podcast in 2019 and 2020 to talk about his voice acting career and eat babka with host (and fellow Ukrainian) Sabrina Rani Furminger. But those previous appearances were before February 24, 2022, when Russia fully invaded Ukraine, displacing and traumatizing millions of Ukrainians, killing thousands, and mobilizing Ukrainians in the diaspora to do whatever they could to help. In the first month of the war, Adrian and Sabrina co-produced YVR Screen Scene For Ukraine, a gala fundraiser and online auction that raised more than $37,000 for Ukrainian humanitarian relief. Eight months later, Ukrainians continue to fight for their right to exist – and Ukrainians in the diaspora have seen public interest in Ukraine ebb and flow, come and go. Says Sabrina: “There is a special pain that comes with watching the world lose interest in the genocide of your people, a special rage that takes over when people you thought were your friends tweet that Ukraine should negotiate with the terrorists intent on erasing it from the map, and a special gratitude that surfaces when the world – and the media, and your friends – bears witness.” In this emotional and freewheeling episode, Sabrina and her Ukrainian-brother-from-another-mother Adrian talk about the war, what it’s been like to navigate the entertainment industry as Ukrainians in the diaspora while Ukrainians in Ukraine fight for their lives, and how allies can help. Episode sponsor: UBCP/ACTRA