Orlando-based production company Adrenaline Films (Website) has released a new documentary that will be screening as part of this year’s Florida Film Festival, and it’s based on a one-night ballet performance that won them an Emmy.
The Sky Was on Fire: Ballet and War in Ukraine shares the story of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, told through the story of a group of ballerinas and dancers who have to choose between staying in their homeland to fight or to dance. It is co-directed by Joan Finn Adkison, a former HBO Senior Writer, and Jonathan Maricle.
Julie Meyer, the film’s producer who was on the ground in Ukraine, says, “This entire journey started right here in Orlando. We were initially filming what we thought was a one-night ballet performance—a Ginsburg Family Foundation fundraiser for Ukraine—but the stories we heard changed everything. As filmmakers, we couldn’t walk away. We followed these dancers as they made impossible choices, and that’s how The Sky Was On Fire was born. To now bring this film back home to Orlando, where it all began, and have it screen at the Florida Film Festival is incredibly special.”
Click HERE for more information on screening times during the festival and/or to purchase a ticket.
The last documentary Adrenaline Films screened during the fest was 2023’s Greetings from Queertown: Orlando, which won them an award for Best Florida Film. The Florida Film Festival is an Oscar-qualifying festival in three shorts categories; Live Action, Animated, and Documentary.
