From Ukraine to Hollywood: A ‘True Cinderella Story’
Just about a year ago, two Ukrainian entertainment industry professionals — Yuliia Chumak, a production coordinator, and her sister Alona Ksenofontova, a hair and makeup artist — wiped tears from their eyes as they told TheWrap about how a carefree trip to Barcelona to celebrate Alona’s 34th birthday abruptly ended with news that Russian forces had invaded, menacing their hometown of Kyiv and occupying other parts of the country.
Unable to return to their homeland, the sisters eventually found their way to Los Angeles through a program called Ukraine Take Shelter. Volunteers from the program took Alona and Yuliia into their mid-Wilshire home. Their parents were, and are, still living in Kyiv. Russian forces retreated from their positions around the Ukrainian capital but still control a fifth of the country.
At that time, the young women seemed lost, wearing oversized red plaid flannel shirts provided by a local donation service as they described how stalled work permits and entertainment union red tape were hampering their efforts to find work. The meager job offerings included dog walking and canine hygiene — that is, the poop-scoop detail.
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But a year later, Chumak, 39, and Ksenofontova, now 35, are smiling. They’re working in new jobs in their respective fields at Warner Bros. — Chumak as a production coordinator and Ksenofontova is doing makeup for the Apple TV+ series “Presumed Innocent,” produced by Bad Robot Productions and David E. Kelley Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Ksenofontova is a day player on the series, which shoots at Warner Bros. Ranch and L.A. locations, and is hoping to work on other productions.
“Like ‘Pretty Woman’ ladies”
The sisters have upgraded their wardrobe, sporting an entirely different kind of donated clothing: The Warner Bros. costume department raided its racks for formalwear for the sisters to dress them up for the 10th annual Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel in February.
The costumers provided not just clothes but “shoes and bags — we looked like ‘Pretty Woman’ ladies for this event,” Chumak told TheWrap with a laugh.
On a more sober note, she added, “Within one year we (have) met a lot of people from Ukraine — families, young people like us who escaped, people who couldn’t come back (to Ukraine) just like us. When we hear their stories, we understand that our story is a true Cinderella story. It’s because of the people who helped us. Without them, we would be struggling just like they do.”
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So where does the Cinderella story begin? Well, once upon a time in 1950, Disney made the fairy tale into a movie — but in 2022, the Fairy Godmother was Lisa Cochran-Neilan, a senior vice president and production executive at Warner Bros. Cochran-Neilan’s daughter, publicist Dana Steiner, brought the story to her mother’s attention.
“That was like poking the bear,” Cochran-Neilan told TheWrap. “My daughters are 33 and 35 and I believe what struck me was that their parents were worlds apart at such a horrific time in the world and their inability to see their daughters or know how they were dealing with being strangers in another country.”
She continued, “I think any parent would want to know that someone would lend a hand and help these two ladies and I felt our company and the industry in general could and should do whatever it could to help two Ukrainian filmmakers survive this situation. Yes, being a parent myself influenced my decision to jump in.”
After meeting the Ukrainian women via Zoom, Cochran-Neilan passed TheWrap’s story around to a raft of WB production executives. “When I got there, producers, big executives, everyone was coming up to me, shaking my hand, introducing themselves and saying ‘Yes, we’ve heard a lot about you,'” Chumak said. “We want to let know you guys are very popular here at Warner Bros.”
Cochran-Neilan and other Warner Bros. representatives also connected with representatives of labor unions representing makeup and hair for Ksenofontova, as well as reaching out to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), to help untangle red tape for the refugees.
“Yuliia and Alona’s story is one of remarkable resilience in the face of very difficult circumstances,” Schiff said in a statement to TheWrap. “My office was contacted about their situation, and we were able to help secure and expedite the necessary employment documentation so that they could continue their careers in the film industry in the United States after the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced them to flee.
“Refugees like Yuliia and Alona have rich perspectives, experiences, and talents to contribute to our communities, and they should have the opportunity to make a decent living and build a life in the United States. I am thrilled that my office was able to help them get back on their feet, and I look forward to continuing to support them as new residents of my district.”
‘Not normal’
While Cinderella’s glass slipper is a good fit in Hollywood, Kyiv always looms large in the background for Chumak and Ksenofontova. Their parents in Kyiv are safe at present but “the economic situation is very bad, and they say that there may be attacks any time,” Chumak said. “It’s very difficult to live, especially with these high prices and low salaries, and many people lost their jobs because a lot of the companies, they just closed… The situation is bad there, and I’m not even sure that it’s going to be better any time soon. I just don’t see it in the near future.”
Chumak added, “You know, people got used to these circumstances and now they ignore the sirens and the air attacks, they just try to live their normal lives. They want to come back to their normal lives. But it’s not normal.”
Chumak and Ksenofontova are among more than 270,000 Ukrainians who have fled to the United States. A government program, United for Ukraine, allows refugees to stay for up to two years with employment authorization.
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