HOUSE OF FEMEN is a dangerous, punk, bold, true electrifying saga of three ordinary Ukrainian women whose audacious friendship and authority-defying street performances lead them to extraordinary stand-off with the most violent patriarchal regimes in Eastern Europe — leaving behind a lasting legacy of courage.
HOUSE OF FEMEN is a political thriller and a raw, emotionally charged coming-of-age story based on the true origins of the radical feminist group Femen. At its center are three young women—Oxana, Sasha, and Inna—who transform from rebellious idealists into global symbols of resistance, using their own bodies as political weapons.
Set across Kyiv and Paris in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the film unfolds with the urgency of a thriller: clandestine meetings, state surveillance, personal betrayals, and escalating risks. But it’s also a story of friendship, power struggles, and ambition among women in their twenties trying to change the world—and finding the world isn’t ready.
The film taps into global conversations about protest, feminism, and authoritarianism. Femen’s daring topless actions against figures like Putin and Lukashenko made headlines, but the human story behind the spectacle remains untold. This is not a glorified biopic—it’s a story about the cost of resistance, the psychology of leadership, and the emotional fallout of collective action.
Stylistically, I envision a visceral, immersive visual approach: dynamic handheld camera work, sharp pacing, and layered sound design that captures the chaos and adrenaline of protest and exile. Archival footage will be used sparingly to anchor the story in real historical moments.
What sets this film apart is its fusion of genre tension with character-driven drama. Think Mustang meets Carlos —a story of female revolution told with immediacy and cinematic flair. It’s designed to connect with both arthouse and crossover audiences hungry for fresh female-driven narratives with political bite.
Darya Zhuk left Minsk, Belarus at the age of 16 to study in the US. Six years later with a cum lade B.A. degree from Harvard University, Darya Zhuk started creating both narrative and documentary independent films. She is a proud honors graduate of Columbia MFA program in Directing. Films she wrote and directed have been selected to SXSW, Tarkovsky, Oaxaca, Atlanta, Palm Springs, Santa Fe Independent film festivals just to name a few. She received best female writer-director award from New York Women in Film and Television in 2015 and has been nominated for the best female director by Adrienne Shelly Foundation. She received special jury prize for her short “The Real American” at Listopad Film Festival in Minsk. Additionally, she is the winner of such prestigious film grants as New York State Council for the Arts, Panavision Emerging Filmmaker grant, and Interdisciplinary Council for the Art of Columbia University grants.
Maria Bakalova - Oxana
Chris Curling - producer
