"Soul Arbitration" by Sophia Romma
Documentary illuminates the architecture of survival and the jurisprudence of resilience in Ukraine.

On April 30, 2026 the New York City Bar Association hosted a pre-release screening of "Soul Arbitration" by Sophia Romma, a powerful documentary exploring the Ukrainian refugee crisis and illuminating the devastating impact of the current war on women and children who are now refugees in Estonia.

Through an intimate tapestry of oral histories and personal narratives, the film illuminates stark realities of the conflict: shattered families, egregious human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Its challenge to the legal minds in the audience: does the law serve as a sanctuary, or is it merely an archive of what was lost? And how can practitioners of international law reinforce the structures of justice so that they are as resilient as the souls they are meant to protect?

Ukrainian refugees who were interviewed in Estonia for the documentary. Their voices and faces were disguised with AI for their safety.

The unreleased film is a project of Sharp Frame Docs Productions, LLC, which specializes in documentaries on themes of identity, resilience, migration, memory and survival.

Through oral histories and personal narratives, the film unveils the stark realities of conflict: shattered families, abducted children subjected to indoctrination, and the silent suffering of prisoners of war. It confronts egregious human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, while probing the moral paradoxes of sovereignty, profit from war, and the tragic loss of innocent lives—including young soldiers on both sides.

The refugees got to Estonia on an ocean liner. Romma interviewed women who took refuge in Talinn from Ukraine. The project was funded by an Estonian arts agency. The women's voices and faces were disguised using AI to camouflage their identities.

The audience, like me, was in shock after the film.

The ethical and legal issues raised by the film were confounding. It challenged the lawyers attending to engage in a high-level inquiry into the Jurisprudence of Resilience, asking how they--as practitioners of international law, as advocates, and as human beings--can reinforce the structures of justice so that they are as resilient as the souls they are meant to protect. Ms. Romma explained in prepared remarks at the film's conclusion, "Our task as the New York legal community, and as members of the City Bar, is to ensure that when the dust of conflict settles, the law is ready to provide a sanctuary built on the bedrock of accountability. There is a brutal mathematics to survival, and a heavy burden which the displaced bear each day. This burden, however, should not be reduced to a mere statistical quotient. It must be eased and lifted by all those who cherish righteousness and truly believe in the sanctity of the rule of law."