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This February: Standing Up Against the Sky

This February: Standing Up Against the SkyThis February: Standing Up Against the SkyThis February: Standing Up Against the Sky

Stay tuned for all updates, including premieres, Q+A discussions, and film festivals.

Trailer
Instagram

This February: Standing Up Against the Sky

This February: Standing Up Against the SkyThis February: Standing Up Against the SkyThis February: Standing Up Against the Sky

Stay tuned for all updates, including premieres, Q+A discussions, and film festivals.

Trailer
Instagram

About DMP:

Our Mission

At Deer Mountain Pictures, we are dedicated to creating impactful documentaries that resonate with audiences. Our goal is to foster community engagement and awareness around pressing social issues through powerful storytelling.


We are a film production initiative developed in 2025 by Ron Hirschberg following Certificate Program at Harvard  Medical School's Media and Medicine: How to Tells Stories That Make a Difference, and a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine that followed, along with colleagues from Home  Base / Mass General Brigham, and Global  Response Medicine.

Spotlight: Standing Up Against The Sky Trailer

We are currently working on 'Standing Up Against The Sky,' a documentary short about a Ukrainian ballet dancer turned soldier. This film highlights the themes of resilience and mental health amidst the backdrop of war.


Our mission is two-fold: To create impact and support of healing Ukrainian Soldiers' Invisible Wounds primarily due to drone-attacks causing mental and physical injuries, and to highlight service to country in defending freedom and passion for preserving culture and the arts.

Crowdfunding Support

Thanks to you all, we are so excited that we have exceeded our crowdfunding goal of $15,000 for the post-production phase of this film, which has allowed us to continue to create SUATS.


We continue to appreciate all involvement- whether that's following the campaign on our Instagram or spreading the word. Of course, we cannot wait to show you this film as early as February 2026 through premieres.

View Our Campaign For More

A snapshot of our "Why"

Why now?

Drone injury and anxiety are the “IED blast-injuries” of 2025. This film will highlight the 100s of 1000s of people experiencing trauma and the desperate need for best care for these signature invisible wounds. With 500 casualties a day and 70% from drones,  this warfare is no longer the future, and will surely impact US troops, potentially right at home. 

Approach

Through interviews, archival footage, and footage from the battlefield to Kyiv, the film captures the deep patriotism and call to service that leads a principal dancer to leave the stage in Paris and join the frontline. The juxtaposition of Sasha - the dancer and the scout - will be demonstrated with the beauty and emotion of his performance footage versus the dehumanized, video-game-like footage of drone targeting on the battlefield.

The signature, high-pitched drone buzzing plays a central role in contrast to the music of the ballet – to some, the “lawn mower” sound may be simply annoying, yet for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, it is spine-chilling. During the re-creation of a pivotal conflict, the audience will feel the anticipation of a chasing drone while also experiencing the resolve and self-control that Sasha feels in the moments of the hunt - and the relief of the escape.


Director Ron Hirschberg was interviewed in Psychology Today by Mitzi Purdue

on April 6th 2025 about this emerging phenomenon.


Central to the Three Act structure will be in-person interviews with Sasha and supporting characters, including his physician, his student, and psychologist-scientists from both Home Base and Kyiv. The film includes B-Roll and interviews with camera partner Lee Harrington shooting in Kyiv. Music composition by Odesa’s Vadim Neselovskyi will drive emotion towards conflict, climax, and reintegration. Film mentoring for the project is with prolific documentarian/producer Christine O’Malley.

This documentary short is dedicated to the men and women who serve in Ukraine for freedom, and to the thousands who have been lost in this fight. Slava Ukraini!


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Standing Up Against The Sky


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