Ukrainian was one step away from receiving an Oscar in 2020: for which he was nominated

Even just getting to the most popular film award, the Oscars, is the dream of many. Being part of a team whose work is nominated for a gold statuette is already a victory. This is exactly what former Kiev resident Maxim Kapitanchuk thinks. His story was told by the publication "Voice of America".

Photo: Shutterstock

He became one of the heroes of the documentary film “Walk, Run, Cha Cha,” which was nominated for an Oscar this year.

Maxim has been teaching at the Lala ballroom dance studio in Los Angeles for 8 years.

“I came to the USA when I was 19 years old. We had a performance with a ballet group from Ukraine. I ended up in Los Angeles because my current wife and partner Elena lived here, and she invited me to come and try to dance with her, helped me with work, and so I stayed here,” says Maxim.

In 2012, a couple of Vietnamese immigrants Paul and Mili Chao came to Maxim and Elena to dance lessons.

“After the first lesson, I realized that these were the teachers I wanted to learn from. They have excellent teaching techniques,” says Paul.

Dancing quickly develop into a real passion for Vietnamese spouses with a difficult fate.

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The man left for the USA, running away from the communist regime, the couple reunited only after 6 years and got married in the USA.

“For 6 years we maintained a relationship by correspondence, but the letters took a long time, I received them 4 months after they were sent. At that time, it was difficult to maintain a feeling of closeness to each other,” admits Mili.

“After 6 years of trying because I couldn’t bring her as a bride because I wasn’t a US citizen, I was finally able to help her move to this country,” says Paul.

There were many immigrant stories in the dance group. Film director Laura Knicks also came to dance lessons. Together with Maxim and Elena, they decided 7 years ago to make a movie about dances and various cultures.

For several years, the woman filmed and stored video material. One day they called her from the New York Times.

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“When the New York Times asked the director if she could make a short film on the topic of immigration, she was very happy, because this is exactly what we have been working on for the last 7 years,” says Maxim. “She wanted the story of Paul and Mili to be at the center of the story.”

For the film, Paul and Miles revealed a lot of personal on-camera. And Maxim and Elena performed dances that symbolize the story of their life.

“The idea of ​​the film is very emotional, because we are all immigrants here, one way or another. Also, we all strive for something and look for love. That’s why I think everyone can try this story on themselves,” says Elena.

“Only now, thanks to dancing, have we really become closer again. We are only now beginning our common journey,” says Mili.

The film “Walk, Run, Chacha” is a romantic story set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, a drama about immigrants who learned to enjoy life through dancing. The film received positive reviews from both viewers and critics. Therefore, the New York Times decided to submit the film for an Oscar in the short documentary category.

It sounded too unrealistic, so the authors and characters of the film were very surprised when the tape was in the top ten best. And when I got into the final five of the nominees, the announcement of which was watched all together, emotions were not restrained.

Next was an unforgettable awards ceremony in Hollywood. Another documentary film won the statuette, but this is not the main thing for the “Walk, Run, Chacha” team.

“This is already a very big victory for us, and when my wife and I went to the ceremony, we told ourselves that no matter what happens, this is already a victory,” says Maxim.

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