Oksana Ivantsiv

Women Occupied follows the lives of women from Ukraine, Kosovo, and Germany who strive to overcome the trauma of wartime sexual violence. Through three interconnected stories, the film portrays their resilience, dignity, and fight for justice. 

In Ukraine, Liudmyla, 60, and Dariia, 32, form a mother-daughter bond as they support each other through therapy and activism. Liudmyla, a survivor of captivity in Donetsk, advocates for women in occupied territories, while Dariia channels her trauma into art.  

In Kosovo, Shyhrete and her daughter Vanessa confront their shared trauma. Shyhrete, raped during the war, has become a global advocate, while Vanessa struggles with anorexia and begins her healing journey by speaking publicly. 

In Germany, Andrea explores her mother Moni’s unprocessed WWII trauma through a theater play. The film examines how unaddressed wounds ripple across generations.  

Through therapy, art, and activism, Women Occupied offers hope and resilience, showing how survivors reclaim their strength and seek justice. 

Women Occupied is a documentary based on the five true stories of women from different countries who were raped by enemy soldiers. The reality of war in Ukraine and wars all over the world is that––along with missiles and guns––rape is an instrument of war and a weapon. Each chapter of the film is based on true testimonies/stories/diaries of women who were forced to endure sexual violence. The film consists of five chapters/novels telling stories of women from five different countries and times in history. The stories will be told from different perspectives: those of a victim, of a perpetrator, and of a witness. The stories will be re-enacted by actresses and actors, partly in real settings, and partly in abstract theater space. The actresses will play the role of real women from Ukraine, Germany, Bosnia, Yemen and Africa. As the story of each woman unfolds, it takes on the mosaic plot of a film. Each character focuses on a different perspective of a wartime rape and shows different sides involved in the tragedy.