ETCHED IN MEMORY

From Crimea to Kyiv: A Crimean Tatar Family’s Fight to Save Their People

a film by Christina Paschyn

ABOUT THE FILM

As Russian missiles strike Kyiv, Zarema and Eskender Bariiev risk everything to fight for their occupied homeland, Crimea, while protecting their children and fellow Crimean Tatars trapped in exile—a rare glimpse into the war through the eyes of Ukraine’s Indigenous Muslim community.

Etched in Memory follows Crimean Tatar activists Zarema and Eskender Bariiev as they raise three children under missile fire in war-scarred Kyiv while fighting to free their occupied homeland. Forced from Crimea after Russia’s 2014 annexation, the Bariievs rebuilt their lives in the capital—only to face a new invasion that once again threatens their family and people.

Between air raids, they campaign for political prisoners like Nariman Dzhelyal and lead efforts to rescue abducted museum director Leila Ibrahimova. They also stand beside fellow refugees: Rustem, seeking justice for his teenage son killed in a strike, and Elena, mourning her fallen soldier husband.

But as global attention shifts and Western politicians edge closer to recognizing Crimea as Russian, the Bariievs are left with a stark question: Can justice prevail for an Indigenous people on the brink of erasure, or will the world decide their homeland’s fate without them?

Intimate yet urgent, Etched in Memory reveals a conflict within a conflict: Ukraine’s Crimean Tatars battling for survival, justice, and the right to return home. More than that, it reframes the war through those who have already lived under occupation—and who refuse to surrender their future.

Christina Paschyn is a Ukrainian American journalist and filmmaker. Etched in Memory is her debut feature documentary.

Her award-winning short documentary, A Struggle for Home: The Crimean Tatars (2015), received nine international awards, including Best International Film at the DC Independent Film Festival. The film screened at the European Parliament in Brussels and the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and was broadcast by Al Jazeera Documentary and Axess TV. It is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Christina holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and an MFA in Film from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is an assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University in Qatar.

MEET THE DIRECTOR

THE TEAM

PRODUCERS
Christina Paschyn – Paschyn Productions
Rustem Muratov – 2Frames Production

EDITOR
Sasha Friedlander

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY – KYIV
Denys Krasylníkov
Yunus Seytablaev

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – TURKEY
Mare Caravadjio

SOUND RECORDER – KYIV
Artem Balan

SOUND RECORDER – TURKEY
Zafer Yilmaz

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

As a Ukrainian American filmmaker, this film is both personal and political—an effort to document a community whose history of displacement is unfolding again in real time.
 
“Etched in Memory” is my contribution to my ancestral homeland, Ukraine, and its never-ending resistance to the colonial, imperialist power next door. It is also my tribute to the Indigenous Crimean Tatar people, whose history and culture I’ve long admired and whose erasure I refuse to accept.
 
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, I thought of my grandparents, who fled their beloved country because of Soviet persecution more than half a century earlier. But even more, I thought of Zarema Bariieva, my former fixer turned close friend, who refused to run again.
 
She and her husband, Eskender, had fled Crimea in 2014, believing their departure would be temporary. This time, they knew not to make that mistake again. They chose to stay in Kyiv to keep fighting for Crimea’s liberation from Russian occupation—even with their three kids beside them.
 
That act of courage moved me deeply, and I could not help but pick up my camera to capture it. But rather than focus on the spectacle of war, I chose to foreground subtler emotional realities: the choice to stay, the fear of history repeating, and the defiance of continuing to work and raise children as missiles fall.
 
In documenting the Bariievs, I am creating space for voices that Western media and cinema have long ignored. This is not just a film about war. It’s a film about the Indigenous cost of empire and the urgency of bearing witness before memory is lost again.
 
It is also a family story. A love story. A story about how people hold on to who they are, even as the world tries to destroy them. And how, even during war, life carries on.
 
I can only hope that my film will serve to remind audiences that no matter what happens to Crimea or how the war might end, the Crimean Tatars have the most to lose. Their voices must not be ignored or forgotten.
Crimean Tatar activist and political prisoner Nariman Dzhelyal embraces his family in an emotional reunion after surviving three years of Russian captivity.
Crimean Tatar activist and political prisoner Nariman Dzhelyal embraces his family in an emotional reunion after surviving three years of Russian captivity.
Nariman Dzhelyal’s daughter and wife hug after the political activist is finally freed.
Nariman Dzhelyal’s daughter and wife hug after the political activist is finally freed.
Rustem Bilyalov holds up the shattered phone of his teenage son Emir, who was killed by a Russian missile on the first day of the full-scale invasion. In the documentary, Rustem meets with Eskender Bariiev to discuss how justice can be pursued.
Rustem Bilyalov holds up the shattered phone of his teenage son Emir, who was killed by a Russian missile on the first day of the full-scale invasion. In the documentary, Rustem meets with Eskender Bariiev to discuss how justice can be pursued.
Elena Kadyrova visits the grave of her husband, soldier Seyran Kadyrov, reflecting on the sacrifice he made for his family and country. He was killed at the front in 2023.
Elena Kadyrova visits the grave of her husband, soldier Seyran Kadyrov, reflecting on the sacrifice he made for his family and country. He was killed at the front in 2023.
Elena Kadyrova shows a photograph from her wedding day, remembering the life she built with her husband, Seyran, before Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the subsequent full-scale war.
Elena Kadyrova shows a photograph from her wedding day, remembering the life she built with her husband, Seyran, before Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the subsequent full-scale war.
A man prays amid broken glass inside Kyiv’s Crimean Tatar mosque, damaged by a Russian missile strike.
A man prays amid broken glass inside Kyiv’s Crimean Tatar mosque, damaged by a Russian missile strike.
After being abducted by Russian forces, Leila Ibrahimova holds the red vyshyvanka blouse she wore in the photo the Bariievs used in their campaign to rescue her. She credits the Bariievs with saving her life.
After being abducted by Russian forces, Leila Ibrahimova holds the red vyshyvanka blouse she wore in the photo the Bariievs used in their campaign to rescue her. She credits the Bariievs with saving her life.
As military vehicles pass, Zarema Bariieva recalls the terror her family faced on the first day of the full-scale invasion, when they, and thousands of other Ukrainians, were forced to flee Kyiv.
As military vehicles pass, Zarema Bariieva recalls the terror her family faced on the first day of the full-scale invasion, when they, and thousands of other Ukrainians, were forced to flee Kyiv.
The Bariievs and their children spend time together during a blackout, one of many caused by Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.
The Bariievs and their children spend time together during a blackout, one of many caused by Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.
Zarema and Eskender Bariiev share a quiet moment as they discuss their love story and their decades of work aiding fellow Crimean Tatars.
Zarema and Eskender Bariiev share a quiet moment as they discuss their love story and their decades of work aiding fellow Crimean Tatars.
Zarema Bariieva stands before the Crimean Tatar Resource Center’s wall of political prisoners, surrounded by the faces of those unjustly detained under the Russian occupation in Crimea. She and her husband, Eskender, continue their efforts to free them.
Zarema Bariieva stands before the Crimean Tatar Resource Center’s wall of political prisoners, surrounded by the faces of those unjustly detained under the Russian occupation in Crimea. She and her husband, Eskender, continue their efforts to free them.
Zarema Bariieva holds a poster of Nariman Dzhelyal, who spent three years in a Russian prison after speaking out against human rights violations in Crimea.
Zarema Bariieva holds a poster of Nariman Dzhelyal, who spent three years in a Russian prison after speaking out against human rights violations in Crimea.
Leila Ibrahimova stands by her window, remembering her abduction by Russian occupation forces and the fear she and her family endured.
Leila Ibrahimova stands by her window, remembering her abduction by Russian occupation forces and the fear she and her family endured.
A childhood portrait of Zarema Bariieva, offering a glimpse into the life she lived before years of upheaval brought on by Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
A childhood portrait of Zarema Bariieva, offering a glimpse into the life she lived before years of upheaval brought on by Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
A man adjusts a flag at a Kyiv memorial honoring fallen soldiers from across Ukraine.
A man adjusts a flag at a Kyiv memorial honoring fallen soldiers from across Ukraine.
Zarema Bariieva stands before Kyiv’s Mother Ukraine monument, reflecting on her country’s fight to protect its freedom and people from Russian imperialism.
Zarema Bariieva stands before Kyiv’s Mother Ukraine monument, reflecting on her country’s fight to protect its freedom and people from Russian imperialism.
Ordinary life continues in Kyiv, despite the war and ongoing missile strikes against the city.
Ordinary life continues in Kyiv, despite the war and ongoing missile strikes against the city.
Eskender Bariiev holds his daughter Safiie on Ukrainian Independence Day.
Eskender Bariiev holds his daughter Safiie on Ukrainian Independence Day.

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