The first film from the documentary cycle Poprosi u Neba (Ask From the Sky) will be shown to Friday! channel’s viewers on December 17 at 22:00. Semyon Zakruzhny is the creator and presenter of the project, and the general manager of Friday! channel Nikolay Kartozia is its producer.
Poprosi u Neba is a documentary project created together with the charities Podari Zhizn, Iskorka and Zhivoi. Its four films tell the stories of children who have learned about their terrible diagnosis and are getting help from the charities. They just started to live and they have the most diverse dreams: to see the sea for the first time or to climb a mountain, to meet their idols or touch an elephant, to make peace with their parents or fall in love for the first time. The documentary follows them as they go on an amazing journey towards their dreams. It is a journey that can come to an abrupt end any day.
“The truth is, TV producers are afraid of such projects. They are afraid to talk about children who have had to face a serious illness. Even those who decide to film such projects are afraid. What any television boss thinks is, ‘What if the viewers get scared of a topic like this and change the channel? What if I have became so coarse that I don’t put enough emotion into this project? Should I add a sad violin sound here? Damn it, no, it will look like I’m taking advantage of them’. And so on, and so on. The more professional the producer, the greater the fear. After all, even in the documentary genre, the producer has to remember about the dramatic features that would make things interesting for the viewer. But is it appropriate to create artificial tension (which is what dramaturgy is about), when you have real drama? There is a fear of making something fake. There is a fear of coming across as a jerk. I was afraid of this topic too. I was afraid of it when I worked on NTV’s information programs. I was afraid of it when I did entertainment TV for Friday!. And now I'm not afraid. I learned the story of Yulia, who underwent dozens of chemotherapy treatments and was prescribed a bone marrow transplant, and who is still smiling at life. This incredible little girl squashed my fear. Friday! will definitely show the project Poprosi u Neba, without looking back at what others say about it. The children themselves, facing their illnesses with courage, give us strength. I want to thank our friends and partners in the project - the charities Iskorka and Zhivoi. And one more big thank you to the Podari Zhizn foundation, which was the first to respond to our idea and taught us not to be stupid and cowardly when we have such strong children around us,” said Nikolay Kartozia.