EXCLUSIVE: Post-production is underway on Our Colors Never Fade, a documentary on LGBTQIA+ Ukrainians who sprang to the defense of their country after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Jim McSherry directs and International Emmy winner Artem Lysak executive produces the feature film which is expected to be released in 2025. Deadline understands the project is fully funded.
“This documentary offers Ukraine through the lens of an unseen perspective, showcasing the untold stories of Ukrainians who, faced with an unprovoked invasion on February 24, 2022, refused to flee their homeland,” a release notes. “Instead, these ordinary citizens became frontline soldiers—such as a veterinarian swapping a stethoscope for a sniper’s rifle, a game developer exchanging storyboards for FPV drone manufacture and a father and son fighting together on the Front Line. LGBTQIA+ military have worked tirelessly to not only provide safety for Ukrainian citizens but also for the abandoned animals left behind when their owners fled the fighting. The film captures their personal reflections, sacrifices, and the complex intersection of identity, survival, and duty during a time of war.”
‘Our Colors Never Fade’
Courtesy of OLEKSANDER GLYADYELOV
“At its core,” the release continues, “Our Colors Never Fade explores the often-overlooked experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals in conflict. Despite facing persecution from both the Russian invaders and, at times, their fellow Ukrainians, these brave souls have shown resilience in the fight for their country’s freedom… and their very existence! Through candid interviews and frontline footage, the documentary illuminates how LGBTQIA+ soldiers have risked everything—not only to defend their land but also to challenge societal norms in the face of war.”
In late 2022, Ukraine’s parliament passed legislation banning hate speech aimed at people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Parliament is also considering a bill that would grant legal recognition to same sex partnerships. This stance contrasts sharply with Russia, which since the invasion has become an even more hostile place for its LGBTQ people. As just one indication of that, Russia’s supreme court in November 2023 declared the “international LGBTQ movement” to be an extremist organization.
The Kyiv Independent reported last year, “Russian occupation authorities targeted members of the LGBTQ+ community during the occupation of Kherson back in 2022,” citing a report by the NGO Projektor. The NGO said between March and September 2023, it “interviewed 107 people who belong to the LGBTQI+ community and became either victims or witnesses of war crimes committed by Russian militaries during the occupation of Kherson city. Their testimonies are raising the issue of gender-based and war crimes against the LGBTQI+ community and emphasize the problem of fixation gender-based persecution and violence towards LGBTQI+ within the context of armed conflict.”
Jim McSherry (right) in director’s booth
Jim McSherry
In a director’s statement, McSherry writes, “I am a gay American Journalist and Filmmaker. Our Colors Never Fade is a documentary on the LGBTQIA+ members of the Ukrainian military and civilians fighting in the war against the Russian aggressors.”
The filmmaker continues, “This is the first time in my lifetime I have seen the LGBTQIA+ community fighting not only for their country’s freedom but for their very existence as a community. Our Colors Never Fade tells the personal stories of their life before the war, and now during the fighting, I hope to show their heroism as Defenders, as well as their lives as ordinary citizens. I am just the messenger. When people see and hear about others fighting for their country’s freedom, they view them as Patriots.
Executive producer Artem Lysak (left) and director Jim McSherry on the set of ‘Our Colors Never Fade’
Jim McSherry
“Will that be true for the LGBTQIA+ Defenders? Will their fellow Ukrainian citizens accept them for who they are? The objective is to show who the LGBTQIA+ community really is in the context of the war. And, to help break down the prejudices people have through “real life” education about the community, and not fear based hatred. The target audience for the film is inside Ukraine as well as the international community Worldwide.”
Our Colors Never Fade is being edited by Oleksandr Shuklin and Dmytro Konopko. Cinematography is by Oleh Hutorov. Vladyslav Kurach, co-owner of Cavemen Records, is handling sound mixing, engineering, and music composition.
