STAY ONLINE Official Trailer: Screenlife Thriller to Premiere at Fantasia Next Week

A young woman (Liza Zaitseva) volunteering in Kyiv is given one of the thousands of laptops donated by ordinary Ukrainians to support the war effort. The woman receives a mysterious video call from a young boy searching for his father, the laptop’s previous owner, who went missing during the Russian army’s invasion in Bucha. Reluctantly, she agrees to help find his missing parents—a decision that will ultimately force her to risk the lives of her own loved ones.

Premiering at Fantasia Festival in Montreal on July 22nd, STAY ONLINE releases its first trailer today. The screenlife thriller was filmed in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

 

Directed by Yeva Strielnikova, STAY ONLINE follows a young woman (Liza Zaitseva) volunteering in Kyiv after she receives one of the thousands of laptops donated by ordinary Ukrainians to support the war effort. After installing a sensitive military application, the woman receives a mysterious video call from a superhero-obsessed young boy. The boy is searching for his father, the laptop’s previous owner, who went missing during the Russian army’s invasion of Bucha. Reluctantly, she agrees to help find his missing parents—a decision that will ultimately force her to risk the lives of her own loved ones.

 

“Stay Online” was written by Strielnikova and Anton Skrypets and produced by AMO Pictures, Mamas Production and OUP Fiction. The producers are Skrypets, Anatolii Dudinskyi, Maryna Kvasova and Alla Lipovetska. XYZ Films is handling North American sales.

 

Speaking on the project, Strielnikova shares the film "was very important for us, because in the first days of the war we were all filled with fear, pain and hatred. These feelings were eating away from the inside, so it was necessary to let them out, it was necessary to speak out. Such a chance was given to me by [co-writer] Anton Skrypets, who asked me to write the script with him. The screenlife format was proposed by Anton because this war is taking place on laptops, phones, and all social networks. It is broadcast every minute. Screenlife is our new reality. It is our only opportunity to find out if a person dear to you is alive, whether he died under rockets, whether his car was not shot... 'stay online' for me, it is not only a call to get in touch, but also about how to stay alive.

 

When we wrote the script, we were inspired by many stories of volunteers who helped the residents of Irpen and Buchi to evacuate. Therefore, the main character Katya is a collective image of our heroic girls who, risking their lives, tried to save the lives of other Ukrainians."