TICKET TO KYIV

Like its inspiration, Casablanca (1942), Ticket to Kyiv is an emerging “instant classic,” filled with engaging characters that each represent the people affected by the real Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ticket to Kyiv is in development, with production to begin in late 2025, with a Q3 2026 release envisioned.

In Ticket to Kyiv, Rachel Weiss is a carefree Gen Z American tourist who accompanies Kalyna Reznikov, a young Ukrainian nursing assistant, to her parents’ home in Kyiv for a brief visit to the city.

On their first day, Rachel is profoundly affected by a visit to the Babyn Yar memorials. While listening to the guide explain the events, Rachel imagines that she and her Jewish parents are some of the first victims machine-gunned by the Nazis in 1941.

The next morning, explosions wake Rachel. While the Reznikov’s slumber, Rachel quietly makes a social media video telling her parents that there has been a major industrial accident in the city. However, she assures them, she is all right.

Meanwhile, in their California bedroom, Rachel’s parents Eric and Andrea know the truth: Russia has launched a surprise invasion of Ukraine. In the process, Russia cuts off internet access to and from Ukraine, depriving the Weiss’s from any ability to communicate with their imperiled daughter.

While Ukrainian troops track down Russian special forces hiding in Kyiv, Kalyna volunteers to help at a local hospital, while Rachel assists her. When train service to Poland is restored, inspired by her visit to Babyn Yar and her love for the Roznikov’s. Rachel decides to keep helping war victims in Kyiv.

As Ukrainian volunteer soldiers steadily push Russian troops from Kyiv, Kalyna volunteers to help bring wounded soldiers from the front line. At this “now or never” moment, when Kalyna dares to reveal her love for Rachel, she learns that Rachel also loves her. The next day, they agree to marry and build their lives together.

Little does either know that the existential tragedy of war will soon alter Rachel’s life as she never envisioned.