The famous French film director, screenwriter and winner of the "Oscar" award, Michel Hazanavicius, transferred 125,000 euros to the Elena Zelenska Foundation for the Izyum City Hospital's reconstruction, partially destroyed by the Russian army. The press service of Olena Zelenska informed about this.
Therefore, the French film director organized a charity auction in which dozens of representatives of the film industry worldwide took part. For the lots, they presented their personal belongings at the auction.
For example, the American actor and producer Tom Hanks provided a typewriter from his personal collection, and the French movie actress Catherine Deneuve - her own cosmetic bag, Alain Delon - a photo from the movie "Pool" printed on wood, Natalie Portman - several rare posters with her autograph.
In turn, the musician Thomas Bangalte from the band Daft Punk put a robot helmet for auction from the movie Daft Punk's Electroma.
In total, 250,000 euros were collected during the auction. Michel Hazanavicius directed half of them to the UNITED24 initiative and the other half to the Olena Zelenska Foundation.
According to the Fantzu film director, not only France but also the whole world should hear stories about Ukraine and its citizens.
"Resistance, heroism, humanity, bravery, solidarity - I believe that stories about this need to be told to people (in France and the world). These values enabled your country to defeat the great and powerful Russia. We need these values, we must believe that they still exist and see that they still have value in this world," said Michel Hazanavicius.
In turn, the First Lady of Ukraine thanked Michel Hazanavicius for this contribution: "You have given an invaluable gift to all whose lives depend on this hospital."
It is worth noting that Olena Zelenska recently presented the foundation during her visit to Paris. She also told the guests of the event about the mission and projects of the foundation - in particular, the reconstruction of the hospital in Izyum.
"No matter how much we do to save Ukrainians, the war continues. We face new challenges all the time, every day," she addressed prominent figures in France.
The initiative attracts funds from foreign businesses, international agencies, and foundations to restore Ukraine's human capital. The Olena Zelenska Foundation seeks to become a conduit between caring people worldwide and Ukrainians affected by Russian military aggression.
Currently, assistance to the Izyum City Hospital, which served as a support medical facility for almost 150,000 people, is the main priority of the foundation. The hospital buildings were partially destroyed, and the surviving medical equipment was looted by Russian troops.
According to Olena Zelenska, the hospital needs to be rebuilt now, because residents of the Kharkiv region are blown up by landmines daily, so they need urgent help.
