ABOUT THE PROJECT: On February 25, 2022 I attended one of the earliest rallies calling for justice for Ukraine in Times Square. As I spent the day speaking with family members and friends of those trapped in the conflict zone, I thought about what it must mean to be on the other side of all of this: the Ukrainian diasporic community sitting helplessly from the side of safety as their loved ones endured peril. As an immigrant in the United States myself, I’ve never experienced conflict or war in my home country of Malaysia, but have always wondered what my gut reaction would be if something were to transpire. I am certain that one of the first things I would do is pick up the phone and call home. It was in that crowd, amidst those musings, that I met Lesya Verba and her eldest daughter Iva.

Lesya, an artist and Ukrainian folk musician, resides with her husband and two daughters in Brooklyn. She shared with me that her older sister Yulia had just entered a bunker in Odessa with her two teenage children. With limited access to electricity and cell signals, Lesya and Yulia had only exchanged brief text messages confirming that Yulia and the children were safe for the time being. I asked Lesya if I could film their first FaceTime conversation to each other—and she said yes. A day later, I was at Lesya’s home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, camera in tow, as she dialed the number on her phone and Yulia’s face first came into view.

CALL ME ANYTIME, I’M NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE is a long title for a short film about a moment in time that feels never-ending. The phone call between the sisters serves as the film’s narrative spine, interspersed with meditative musings from Lesya in deep consultation with her past and recollections of her motherland, now crumbling before her eyes. It explores the transformative love between two sisters and a resonant portrait of “home,” threaded through a continuous tension of neither sister wanting to hang up the phone.

The beauty of our film lies in the grey–in resistance to how stories about war and conflict are often told, between the lines of security and stability, and within the juxtaposition of freedom and fear. I hope this film catalyzes audience reflections on its sheer universality: as much as this is a film about the war in Ukraine, it is also in service of and in dedication to the countless other stories of loved ones separated through conflict across the globe, especially in parts less prone to media attention. Against the backdrop of raging war, CALL ME ANYTIME, I’M NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE plays as an offering—a tribute to resilience in a time when so much is out of our control.

Judges’ comments: “A moving, intimate portrait about war, survival, and sisterhood. Outstanding photography - you feel you are right there in the room with the subject experiencing her emotional journey firsthand.”