On Easter Sunday, two enlistment officers, Petro and Andrii, slowly drive through Kyiv searching for draft-age men. They stop Sashko, a calm young man who has just stepped out of his building. By the rules, he should be conscripted immediately, but Sashko insists he first feeds his cat and gets Easter bread blessed. The men agree, and a leisurely journey through the city begins, full of tiny domestic details and humorous moments: Petro buys a lottery ticket, Andrii argues that dogs are better than cats, and Sashko quietly tends to his own affairs.
The idea emerged during a phone call with my co-writer, Illia Volynets-Trifonov, when officers from the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (TRSSC) had already brought him in for a medical examination. That morning, Illia had gone out to buy cat food.
TRSSC – Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (commonly abbreviated as TRSSC) is a Ukrainian military administrative body responsible for keeping military records and mobilizing conscripts.
It all began as a joke and a desire to document Illia’s experience in literary form. But as we continued writing, we noticed a shift in the tone of the story. What started as a story about TRSSC officers going out for cat food became a reflection on one of the most difficult and controversial topics in Ukraine during the full-scale war. The demonization of the TRSSC has become the norm—social media is flooded with videos of conflicts, fights, and angry comment sections. Among civilians, fear, hatred, and disgust prevail. Amid all this, there emerged a need to tell a story about a possible dialogue between TRSSC officers and a civilian. “You might as well go to church with them!” That’s how the idea of Easter came about—a holiday that, since childhood, has made me feel a deep sense of unity with others. The anticipation of the priest coming out to sprinkle holy water, the expressions on people’s faces at that moment, the unique decoration of Easter bread that reflects the personality of its maker, the tapping of eggs—all of this puts everyone on the same level.The scene in which Petro, Andriy, and Sashko go through this Easter blessing is the very opportunity for dialogue between the individual and the system.
Mykola Zasieiev was born in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1994. He graduated from Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts (Filmmaking) in 2017. While still a student, he started working with provident Ukrainian TV and film production studios as a script writer, 1st AD, and acting coach. He has also
made several student works released at the local film festivals. “Phase”, his short fiction debut, premiered at Molodist IFF in Kyiv in May 2021, and since, has been in numerous film festivals. It’s Asian premiere took place at the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022 in Tokyo. “Phase” also received Best Narrative Short Award at French Riviera Film Festival in May 2022. In 2023, “Phase” received Best Short Fiction Film Nomination from Ukrainian Film Academy’s Golden Dzyga. Currently, Mykola is volunteering humanitarian work in Kyiv during the full-scale war in Ukraine.