Crowdfunding Spotlight: HALTED

The war in Ukraine has disrupted the process for many American families attempting to adopt children. This is the issue highlighted in the upcoming short film, Halted, which follows the story of Isha and Ben who decide to adopt Maksym, a seven year Ukrainian boy, but when Russia invades Ukraine, their last hope of becoming a family is stolen away.

Halted depicts the emotional toll the war has taken on these families, as well as the atrocities that are being committed in Ukraine every day, including the inhumane and traumatic deportation of children to Russia. It’s a powerful and thought-provoking look at the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on vulnerable children and families. Writer/Director Ilaria Malvezzi doesn’t shy away from the rawness of these horrors in her commitment to bringing this story to the screen.

After graduating from William Esper Studio, Malvezzi has written and produced award-winning films that have been successful on the festival circuit and are being distributed by WeShort. Her latest noir-thriller short, Sins, premiered at The Big Apple Film Festival and is currently being developed into a feature.

Halted is Malvezzi’s directorial debut, and for this film she has partnered once again with her longtime creative collaborators, Executive Producer Annie McGovern and Director of Photography Dominic Sivilli. The star of the film is Lukian Lewkowicz, a young Ukrainian-American actor whose performance serves to humanize and personalize the stakes of this global conflict.

Malvezzi and McGovern recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seed & Spark which will run until May 9th. For more information on how you can contribute and be a part of this project, visit: www.seedandspark.com/fund/halted

Originally published at https://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on April 13, 2023.