Lina.
- FHFF
- Jan 23
- 3 min read
A powerful short documentary and a special opportunity to meet Executive Producer Silke Johnstone on January 30
The short documentary Lina. offers an intimate and deeply human portrait of one Ukrainian child and family living through the realities of war. This moving film will screen on two nights, on two islands, as part of Friday Harbor Film Festival’s Best of the Fest series—January 30 at the San Juan Island Library and January 31 at the Lopez Island Grange #1060.
The January 30 screening will feature a special meet-and-greet and presentation with Executive Producer Silke Johnstone, CEO and Co-Founder of The Humanity Funds.
About the Film: Lina.
Presented by The Humanity Funds and Save Ukraine, Lina. is a short documentary film by Mykola Nosok and Oleksiy Oliyar that follows six-year-old Lina and her family after being rescued from a Russian-occupied village near Kherson. The film centers on Lina’s journey as she struggles to regain her voice, sense of safety, and resilience following occupation and displacement.
Rather than presenting a broad overview of war, Lina. focuses closely on one family’s experience over the course of a year. Through interviews with Lina’s parents, teachers, speech therapists, neighbors, and other displaced mothers, the film documents both trauma and everyday moments of recovery—returning to school, receiving therapy, and finding brief moments of joy amid ongoing uncertainty.
The filmmakers describe the project as a way to bring global attention to the experiences of Ukraine’s youngest victims of war, using intimate storytelling to create understanding, empathy, and connection.
About Silke Johnstone
Silke Johnstone is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Humanity Funds and serves as an Executive Producer of Lina. She brings a diverse background to her humanitarian work, including experience as a former aerospace executive and as a trained U.S. and European lawyer.
Johnstone’s commitment to humanitarian causes is shaped by both personal and professional experiences, including her early exposure to global political change and her leadership roles in nonprofit organizations working in conflict zones. Her work has focused particularly on supporting women and children affected by war, with hands-on engagement in Afghanistan and now Ukraine.
She currently lives in Edmonds, Washington, with her family and continues to guide The Humanity Funds’ strategic and on-the-ground initiatives.
About The Humanity Funds
The Humanity Funds is a humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and children in conflict zones, with a current primary focus on Ukraine. The organization works by supporting resilient local partners with funding, expertise, and long-term collaboration rather than one-time aid.
The organization frames its work in Ukraine as a strategic investment in global stability, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and measurable impact. Its initiatives include direct humanitarian projects, partnerships with local organizations, and storytelling efforts such as Lina., which is positioned as a key advocacy and awareness project.
Through Lina., The Humanity Funds seeks to amplify the voices of children affected by war and to draw attention to the displacement and abduction of Ukrainian children, encouraging deeper public understanding and engagement.
Event Details: Two Nights, Two Islands
Special Best of the Fest start time: 6:00 PM
6:00–6:30 PM – Meet & Greet and short presentation with Silke Johnstone, CEO and Co-Founder of The Humanity Funds
6:30 PM – Screening of the short documentary Lina.
7:00 PM – Screening of the feature documentary Checkpoint Zoo
8:40 PM – Prerecorded interview with Checkpoint Zoo director Joshua Zeman
Screening begins at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM – Screening of the short documentary Lina.
Screening of the feature documentary Checkpoint Zoo
Followed by a prerecorded interview with Checkpoint Zoo director Joshua Zeman
Both evenings are free to attend and offer audiences the opportunity to experience Lina. alongside the award-winning feature documentary Checkpoint Zoo, creating a powerful double-feature focused on human resilience during the war in Ukraine.
The January 30 screening additionally provides a rare chance to hear directly from Executive Producer Silke Johnstone about the film and the work of The Humanity Funds.
FHFF appreciates the in-kind media sponsorship of The Journal of the San Juan Islands!
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