Filmmaker chronicles Ukraine’s tragedy in trailer debut at Sherbino
The man and his dog were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
As they took their final walk through the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, little did they know they were about to become the latest casualties in a war that’s claimed nearly 10,000 civilians’ lives. Yet their broken bodies lay in the street, snuffed out by Russian cluster munitions and in full view of Montrose County-based documentary filmmaker, journalist and humanitarian Jordan Campbell.
Compelled by a “burning sense of injustice,” Campbell documented his experiences on the conflict’s frontlines and providing aid to survivors of Russia’s brutal occupation north of Kyiv. After four trips to the war-torn county, Campbell will host a multimedia presentation about the conflict at the Sherbino Theater on Oct. 19, debuting a nearly six-minute-long trailer for his upcoming documentary, “Ukraine Under Fire.”
The presentation seeks to raise funds to finish producing the documentary, as well as awareness of the conflict’s on-the-ground realities.
When completed, the documentary will explore Russian war crimes, broader injustices and Ukrainian resiliency, primarily following Ukrainian national television presenter Olga Butko and South African volunteer medic Peter Fouché.
Campbell’s journey to Ukraine has roots in Ouray County and the San Juan Mountains, where he molded his love for mountaineering and exploration as a teenager in the early 1980s. After living in South America and California for most of his childhood, visiting cousins in Ridgway and learning of family connections to Ouray’s early mining industry only served to strengthen his love for the area.
“I always loved Ridgway,” Campbell said. “I always thought that Ridgway was a really beautiful nexus of international travelers, really evolved minds and just really interesting people that actually want to do good in the world. I feel like it’s a touchstone for the region in that way.”
His path eventually led him to work for outdoor clothing and sporting goods companies The North Face, Jagged Edge and Marmot, where he served as communications director. While that work aligned with his childhood dreams, Campbell needed a change. So, he started Ramro Global, a humanitarian advocacy and documentary film production company, in 2019.
Since taking that leap of faith, he’s filmed documentaries about life-changing health care operations and other humanitarian projects around the world, including South Sudan, Iraq, Libya, Guatemala and Nepal.
Yet while some of those locations posed mortal danger at times, little prepared him for how depraved the fighting in Ukraine would be.
As the Russian military in late 2021 amassed troops, vehicles and equipment along Ukraine’s borders, Campbell received numerous phone calls from friends he met while working with Ukrainian distributors to sell Marmot products in 2017.
When the situation grew increasingly serious in January and early February, he closely studied the situation and prepared before Russia proceeded with its threatened invasion. Once tanks began rolling across Ukraine’s seemingly boundless plains and pencil-thin treelines, his course of action became clear.
“I was in touch with this one woman, Irina Kerrigan, and I asked her, ‘When are you going to leave?’ And I already applied for press credentials. I was trying to go, and I still wasn’t sure when I could go,” Campbell said. “She said, ‘Yeah, we’re building Molotov cocktails in our basement (in Dnipro).’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. I’m already there.'” Campbell then flew to Kraków, Poland, and entered Ukraine five days after Russia’s invasion began.
North of Kyiv, where Russian troops occupied villages and larger suburbs for more than a month, the scene was apocalyptic. There were countless incinerated Russian tanks, apartment buildings and homes obliterated by missiles and artillery and residents wandering about, unsure of what to do with themselves after their tormentors fled.
It was around that time Campbell realized he needed to film a documentary.
“What I saw was a lot of crazy injustice,” Campbell said. “(But) what I also saw was an insane amount of resilience and so many people that had really defended their small territories.”
Those interested in attending Campbell’s presentation can order tickets on the Sherbino’s website, sherbino. org, and can visit ukraineunderfire.com for more information.
Daniel Schmidt is a journalist with Report for America, a national service program which helps boost reporting resources in underserved areas. To make a tax-deductible donation to fund his work, click here.
