The female gaze in Ukrainian cinema and literature

Published: March 13, 2026   

Culture is the mirror of a nation’s soul, and throughout history, Ukrainian women have played a central role in shaping it. Over the years, particularly in recent times, they have used literature and film to navigate trauma, document diverse experiences, and shed light on their incredible resilience and unwavering strength.

The female gaze in Ukrainian cinema and literature always serves as a powerful force. The works in our curated selection address significant issues, including the tension between tradition and modernity, historical trauma, and personal development. They shed light on women’s experiences and challenge our views on masculinity, relationships, and cultural heritage.

By exploring this list, we invite you to gain a deeper understanding of the richness of Ukrainian culture, along with themes of identity and memory.

LITERATURE

Cassandra by Lesya Ukrainka
translated by Nina Murray

A dramatic poem by Ukraine’s most prominent woman writer, reimagining the myth of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra – a woman condemned to speak the truth and never be believed. The work becomes a powerful reflection on prophecy, power, and moral courage – themes that resonate strongly with modern Ukraine.

Buy and read

 

Olena Stiazhkina, a contemporary Ukrainian writer and historian from Donetsk, explores questions of national identity, war, and occupation in her work. Forced to leave her hometown after Russia’s occupation in 2014, she writes from lived experience in both fiction and nonfiction.

In Ukraine, War, Love: A Donetsk Diary (2020), translated by Anne O. Fisher, Stiazhkina offers a deeply personal account of the early days of Russia’s invasion and a deeply intimate portrait of her city and its people. 

Her novel Cecil the Lion Had to Die (2024), translated by Dominique Hoffmann, traces Ukraine’s modern history through the lives of several families in Donetsk, reflecting the country’s path to independence and Russia’s later attempt to take it away.

Both books offer powerful insights into the history and experience of Ukraine’s eastern region.

 

Dasein: In Defence of Presence by Yaryna Chornohuz
translated by Amelia Glaser

A testimony from the front lines of Russia’s full-scale invasion written by a woman who is at once a corporal in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a volunteer paramedic, a Marine, and one of Ukraine’s most celebrated poets.

Buy and read

My Women by Yuliia Iliukha
translated by Hanna Leliv

An urgent and poignant collection of stories of women confronted by the countless brutalities of war. It locates the voices and devastating experiences of those who have been silenced, those who have lost loved ones, those who have fought and persevered, and those who have broken down.

Buy and read

Women and War Letters from Ukraine to the Free World edited by Aurélie Bros

How would you communicate the realities of living in a warzone to someone who has never had this experience? Thirty Ukrainian women, ages 10 to 72, answered this question in letters that emanate power, depth, pain, strength, and resilience.

Buy and read

Sweet Darusya: A Tale of Two Villages by Maria Matios
translated by Michael Naydan and Olha Tytarenko

In a remote Hutsul village in the Carpathians, Darusya – considered a mute “holy fool” by her neighbors – lives with excruciating head pain and a mysterious inner life. Across three interconnected timelines, Matios traces her story from WWII through the Soviet era to the early 2000s, exploring trauma, love, survival, and the everyday magic of rural life.

Buy and read

Looking at Women Looking at War by Victoria Amelina

A diary, a war crimes account, and a tribute to women on the frontlines, the book has been called an instant classic and a searing portrait of resistance and humanity.

Buy and read

Cinema

Traces, 2026
Alisa Kovalenko & Marysia Nikitiuk

From 2014 to 2023, six Ukrainian women, survivors of sexual violence and torture, share their experiences. Traces reveals their resilience and solidarity, transforming their testimonies into an act of remembrance and justice.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: soon

Cuba and Alaska, 2025
Yegor Troyanovsky

Two female medics in Ukraine’s army, whose lives are captured via phone and body cam footage, navigate the chaos of war with bravery, humour and friendship.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Butterfly Vision, 2022
Maksym Nakonechnyi

Returning home from the front line after being held captive for two months, soldier Lilia (29 y.o.) discovers that she is pregnant after being raped by her warden. Will she manage to survive this trauma and save the child in a society that is not ready to accept either of them?

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Nice Ladies, 2024
Mariia Ponomarova

With the recent escalation of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the seemingly unbreakable bond of a vibrant cheerleading team of 50+ year old women called “Nice Ladies” is challenged. They face impossible choices between motherland and grandmotherhood, between staying and leaving.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Forever Forever, 2023
Anna Buryachkova

Kyiv, late 1990s. Tonia transfers schools to escape violence, only to find herself drawn into a restless group of teenagers testing the limits of love, friendship, and cruelty. Between first desires and reckless games, she falls for the charismatic Zhurik while longing for Sania, caught in a swirl of emotions where innocence and danger intertwine. No one escapes unscathed.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Arte.tv

The Earth is Blue as an Orange, 2020
Iryna Tsilyk

Single mother Anna and her four children live in the front-line war zone of Donbas, Ukraine. While the outside world is made up of bombings and chaos, the family is managing to keep their home as a safe haven, full of life and full of light. Every member of the family has a passion for cinema, motivating them to shoot a film inspired by their own life during a time of war.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Ivan and Marta, 2022
Serhiy Bukovskyi

Ivan Dziuba was a literary critic, publicist, and a “symbol of Ukrainian sixtiers.” Lina Kostenko recalls him as a person who always had the courage to speak the truth. As the initiator of the famous protest against the mass arrests of Ukrainian intellectuals during the premiere of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Serhiy Parajanov, alongside Vasyl Stus and Vyacheslav Chornovil, and as the author of the landmark book Internationalism or Russification?, he inevitably drew close attention from the KGB.

Through all the anxieties and repressions associated with his dissident activities, his wife Marta stood by his side. Together they spent 62 years. Ivan and Marta is a tender story of their relationship and Ivan’s active civic stance, told by his wife, who was his steadfast support and the love of his life until the very end.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Unavailable, 2018
Nikon Romanchenko

Lyuba works at a pastry shop. Her son is in the war zone and out of communication. The mother goes in search of her son in a territory unknown to her.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Intercepted, 2024
Oksana Karpovych

Juxtaposed with images of the destruction caused by the invasion and the day-to-day life of the Ukrainian people who resist and rebuild, the voices of the Russian soldiers – ranging from being filled with heroic illusions to complete disappointment and loss of reason, from looting to committing more horrible war crimes, from propaganda to doubt and disillusionment – expose the whole scope of the dehumanizing power of war and imperialist nature of the Russian aggression.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Blindfold, 2020
Taras Dron

Julia, a young MMA fighter, lost her fiancé in the war. She quits the sport and starts a new relationship to free herself from the role of the war hero’s widow, which is imposed on her by the environment.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix, dafilms

Diary of a Bride of Christ, 2022
Marta Smerechynska

For the young girls who choose to become the brides of Christ, their lives are full of His love. The nuns see its manifestation in everything – the removal of their hair and the renunciation of their names. 12 new Ukrainian future nuns take the cross in a remote village in Transcarpathia, near the border between Ukraine and Romania.

A large-scale celebration of the 20th anniversary of the serving of the Argentinean congregation in Ukraine. Hundreds of nuns from all over the world are at a meeting in Rome. And days of absolute silence and intimate personal stories from the nuns about the emergence of their vocation. What is it like to be a bride of Christ?

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

A Portrait Against the Background of Mountains, 2019
Maksym Rudenko

Deep in the mountains, a photographer, Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit, photographed people and the place where she lived for many years. After her death, a box with thousands of her negatives was found. This finding marks the start of the mysterious journey in search of the present and the past, as reflected in the photo negatives discovered by chance.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: dafilms

My Dear Theo, 2025
Alisa Kovalenko

Ukrainian volunteer soldier, filmmaker, and mother Alisa Kovalenko creates a testament to the power of love in the time of war – by balancing frontline routines, the horrors of the battlefield, and tender poetic letters to her little son, Théo.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: coming soon

Plai. A Mountain Path, 2021
Eva Dzhyshyashvili

This is the story of people who have saved more than they lost under the pressure of our ambivalent present, which has mixed up all the laws of earth and heaven. Their strength and weakness is their love: for their land, for their neighbours. They are both dissident and obedient at the same time, like the mountains.

They rebel against the injustices of life and bravely take all the blows of fate. To the human eye, the Malkovych family is lost among beautiful and harsh nature, but in fact, they are in a place where harmony and love, passed down through generations, have ruled since the beginning of time.

Watch the trailer
Streaming: Takflix

Razom Recommends March 2026

Published: March 2, 2026   

After another long and brutal winter, Ukraine is stepping into spring. War has not paused, but the return of longer days and warmer light brings a familiar rhythm — a reminder that renewal is part of life, even in the hardest seasons.

As the sun returns and communities begin to gather outdoors again, there is a quiet but steady sense of hope. This month’s Razom Recommends reflects that shift. Just as spring nourishes new growth, we’re sharing events that invite connection, creativity, and renewed inspiration — opportunities to stay engaged with Ukraine’s culture, resilience, and future.

5 Mar| 6:30-8:00 PM| NYC

Signals of Being: An Evening With Writer Volodymyr Rafeyenko

Please join the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute for an evening featuring Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Rafeyenko in discussion with Mark Andryczyk. On the occasion of the recent publication of Andryczyk’s English-language translation of Rafeyenko’s play “Signals of Being or Verbum Caro Factum Est” (2025), the two will read excerpts from the publication and discuss how Ukraine’s culture continues to respond to Russia’s enduring drive to eliminate Ukrainian identity.

🔗More HERE.

5, 7, 14, 26-28 Mar|Washington, DC

Jewish Film x Music Festival: Segment on Ukraine

Jewish roots in Kyiv stretch back to the eight century, and it has served as fertile ground for Jewish art, philosophy, and culture. From the rise of the Hasidic movement to the flourishing of klezmer music, Jewish communities persisted and remained fully engaged in present-day Ukrainian society. This month we celebrate the Ukrainian spirit of resistance, a groundbreaking tradition of filmmaking, and the outpouring of creative energy that shines through ongoing conflict. The segment includes Second Wind (March 5), SHTTL (March 7), Man with a Movie Camera (March 14-15), and a suit of Ukrainian shorts (March 26-28).

🔗More HERE. 

6 Mar| 2:30-8:00 PM| NYC

Ukraine Tech: On the Battlefield and Beyond

The Ukrainian Institute of America will host a conference on Ukraine’s emergence as a key proving ground for advanced technology. Drawing on longstanding scientific and engineering expertise, Ukrainian innovations—from drones and AI to cyber capabilities—are reshaping modern warfare and global security far beyond the battlefield.

🔗More HERE. 

6 Mar| 3:00-5:00 PM| Princeton, NJ

Event with Volodymyr Rafeyenko: Signals of Being

In the early days of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine the residents of a small co-op community outside of Kyiv find themselves in increasingly desperate circumstances, surrounded by occupying Russian forces. Pinched between Bucha and Borodianka, cut off from aid, and unable to escape, their attempts at survival rely on connection: a cellphone signal in the forest, their bonds with each other, and, ultimately, new understandings of what it means to be Ukrainian. Weaving Shakespeare with both Ukrainian literary classics and contemporary works, “Signals of Being or Verbum Caro Factum Est” stages a captivating dramatic interpretation of a country at war.

🔗More HERE. 

7 Mar| 12:00-4:00 PM| Chicago, IL

L.A. Woman, Irene Antonovych

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art proudly presents L.A. Woman, a memorial exhibition surveying the life’s work of model, actress, artist, curator, and documentary filmmaker, Irene Antonovych, née Zmurkevych.

The show also highlights her personal collection, which includes works by portraitist Julian Butsmaniuk; California artists Nick Brigante, Peter Max, Morgan Russell, and Volodymyr Balas.

🔗More HERE.  

9 Mar| 7:00 PM| NYC

Procrustean Bed Group Exhibition

On March 9, Mercury Art Center in collaboration with Rukh Art Hub and Fridman Gallery will present Procrustean Bed, a group exhibition that reflects on migration, conformity, and systemic pressure on the individual, featuring artists Taras Haida, Anna Luhovska, Yurii Syvyryn, and Nikita Tsoy. 

🔗More HERE. 

10 Mar| 4:00-5:30 PM| NYC

Perspectives on the Hidden Cost of War

This talk will bring together three perspectives on the hidden cost of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine. As questions about a prospective peace plan continue to circulate, Olga Rudneva, Roksolana Yurchyshyn, and Mary Jordan bring firsthand accounts of soldiers on the frontlines, Ukrainians coping with trauma, and rescued children from the Temporarily Occupied Territories. Together, their work paints the sweeping cost of war beyond the headlines and centers a conversation on what a just peace really means for Ukraine.

🔗More HERE. 

15 Mar| 1:00 PM| Chicago, IL

Testimony of a dissident: 16 years of imprisonment

The Ukrainian community of Chicago is honored to welcome a true living legend — Mykola Horbal, poet, dissident, former political prisoner, and member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. A lifelong advocate for human rights and Ukrainian independence, Horbal’s voice has endured imprisonment and repression. On Sunday, March 15, he will speak at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago, offering reflections shaped by decades of resistance and cultural leadership.

🔗More HERE. 

19-21 Mar| NYC

Mosaics: Discover Ukrainian Composition

Opening our seventh season, UCMF teams up with International Contemporary Ensemble to showcase the diverse places that constitute Ukraine. The festival launches with Places on March 19, 2026, presented in collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble. This opening program explores the relationship between geography and imagination, portraying how Ukraine’s vast and varied landscapes — from the Carpathian Mountains to post-industrial mining towns — shape the sonic imagination of its composers. Featured works include Vela Invecti by Alla Zahaykevych, Branching by Ostap Manulyak, Voice of the Mountains by Victor Kaminsky, Terricone by Anna Korsun (new arrangement co-commissioned by International Contemporary Ensemble and UCMF), and Five Minutes After Leaving the Bomb Shelter by Ivan Nebesnyy.

🔗More HERE. 

26-27 Mar|NYC

Conference. 1990s Ukraine: Undertaken Initiatives & Squandered Opportunities

Please join the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute for the conference 1990s Ukraine: Undertaken Initiatives & Squandered Opportunities. Of late, several important scholarly publications have appeared that focus on the years leading to the Revolution of Dignity and Russia’s invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 in search of roots for the dramatic changes in identity and civil society that Ukraine has undergone in the recent past. These volumes are very insightful and informative in tracing the trajectory of developments on those fronts in Ukraine since 2000, but they largely ignore the first ten years of Ukrainian independence—roughly the 1990s. However, that decade, in fact, featured many of the key initiatives and strategies that would be further developed in the country in the decades to come. 1990s Ukraine will look back at the 1990s and identify crucial areas that can be linked with more recent experiences in Ukraine.

🔗More HERE. 

28 Mar|3:30PM|Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor Film Festival: Films in Competition from Ukraine

This special focus on Ukrainian films includes a poetic film essay set in purgatory; a story of survival; a search for a roommate in Budapest; a jovial rumination on love and the passage of time; the toxic legacy of a Khimprom chemical plant; and a surreal night in the wilderness. The organizers acknowledge the generous support of the U-M Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, which covered the submission fees for all Ukrainian films this season.

🔗More HERE.

As the seasons change, our commitment cannot. We invite you to stay engaged, stay informed, and keep your attention on Ukraine — not only in moments of crisis, but in the ongoing work of resilience, culture, and rebuilding. Your continued interest, presence, and support matter more than ever.

Razom Recommends February 2026

Published: January 26, 2026   

February marks four years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As communities gather to remember and show solidarity, this anniversary comes during an unusually harsh winter marked by escalating attacks on civilian infrastructure. Millions of Ukrainians are facing outages of heat and power never experienced before – challenges that directly affect daily life and survival itself.

This month’s Razom Recommends highlights events held in February that help bring clarity and renew resolve. Alongside these gatherings, Razom continues to respond on the ground, providing urgent winter and energy assistance to communities impacted by ongoing strikes. You can learn more about Razom’s response to the winter emergency here. 

2 Feb| 4:15-5:45 PM| NYC

Crimea and the Crimean Tatars after 12 Years of Temporary Occupation

Please join the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute and the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies (GCUS) for a lecture by Alim Aliev. Moderated by Yuri Shevchuk.

This public discussion will examine the profound changes that have taken place in Crimea over the 12 years of its temporary occupation by the Russian Federation. The conversation will focus on how local residents continue to resist the occupation, how Crimean Tatars preserve and develop their identity under conditions of repression, and how they envision their future.

🔗More HERE.

2-7 Feb| Washington, D.C.

Ukrainian Week in D.C.

Ukrainian Week has been held every February since 2022 in the U.S. capital, hosted at the city’s premier venues. Over the years, thousands of delegates from the United States, Europe, Ukraine, Israel, South Korea, and other countries have participated in Ukrainian Week. In 2026, the jubilee fifth Ukrainian Week will take place as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Independence Day, and close to 2,000 delegates are expected to attend.

🔗More HERE.     

3 Feb| 4:00-5:30 PM |NYC

Book Talk. “Maidan: Ukraine’s Democratic Revolution”

Please join the Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute for a book talk by Sophia Wilson. Moderated by Mark Andryczyk. Sophia Wilson will discuss her book, “Maidan: Ukraine’s Democratic Revolution” – a carefully researched account of the underbelly of the Ukrainian revolutionary process in the winter of 2013-14. The book investigates how participants self-organized to create the resistance, why the peaceful movement eventually turned to violence, and how the revolutionary process changed those who came to change the country. 

🔗More HERE.   

10 Feb| 6:00 PM | NYC

Special Screening of THE EUKRAINIAN hosted by Razom

THE EUKRAINIAN follows Olha Stefanishyna—recently appointed Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States—during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Filmed from within the corridors of power and moments of profound personal strain, the film offers an urgent, human portrait of leadership, resistance, and democratic values under existential threat. Trailer

The evening will open with remarks by Erik Ullenhag, Consul General of Sweden in New York. The screening will be followed by a moderated conversation with director Viktor Nordenskiöld and Razom CEO Dora Chomiak, addressing the realities of war, diplomacy, and the responsibility of the international community. Free admission. RSVP required. 

🔗RSVP HERE.    

10 Feb| 6:00-9:00 PM | NYC

The World of Fake Values: Ukraine and the Global Fight for Freedom

The Ukrainian Institute of America and Renew Democracy Initiative invite you to The World of Fake Values: Ukraine and the Global Fight for Freedom, a conversation with RDI’s Founder and Chairman, Garry Kasparov and CEO, Uriel Epshtein, moderated by CNN’s Bianna Golodryga. Includes reception after the program. Gary’s new book will be available for purchase and signing.

🔗Tickets HERE.   

13 Feb|6:00-9:00 PM| Chicago, IL

It Will Destroy You at UIMA: Opening Reception

It Will Destroy You brings together works by contemporary artists who interrogate the deconstruction of systems and structures that have long governed our lives. Through painting, sculpture, installation, and video, the exhibition reflects on themes of self-preservation and reconciliation as we navigate what the curators describe as a “crumbling socio-political landscape built on violence, greed, corruption, and brutality.”

🔗More HERE.

21 Feb|1:00-3:00 PM| Madison, WI

Ukrainian Rally

Friends of Ukraine – Madison, Inc. invites everyone to join the rally and  to honor the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people and to remember the sacrifices they have made since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began four years ago. During the Capitol gathering, the audience will hear from invited speakers including members of the local Ukrainian community.

Afterwards, the fellowship hour at The Guild Hall of Episcopal Church will offer an opportunity to connect with others, reflect, and engage in meaningful conversations over light refreshments.

🔗More HERE.  

21 Feb|1:30-3:30 PM| Washington, D.C.

Ukrainian Rally

On Saturday, February 21, the Ukrainian diaspora, together with the Ukrainian Embassy, supporters of Ukraine from the U.S. and around the world, will gather at the iconic Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. for a mass rally, marking four years of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. The gathering will take place from 1:30-2:00pm, with the program running 2:00-3:30pm.

🔗More HERE. 

22 Feb|2:00-4:00 PM| San Francisco, CA

Unite & Empower Ukraine Rally & March 

The Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco, the Ukrainian Community and its friends invite you, your family and friends to join us as we continue to support Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion. The event will start with a gathering with flags at Harry Bridges Plaza, feature addresses by dignitaries, and conclude with a march towards Pier 39. 

🔗More HERE.

22-25 Feb|Washington, D.C.

Ukrainian Days 

Sponsored by the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS), the Washington, DC public affairs bureau of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the advocacy event is in conjunction with the observance of the 4th anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The advocacy event is an important opportunity to meet with your elected officials, especially as peace negotiations to end Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine have begun. In addition, a special Ukraine Security Dialogue conference will also be held on Wednesday, February 25th.

🔗Register HERE.

February|Nationwide

Screenings of 2,000 Meters to Andriivka

Throughout February we are helping college communities host screenings of 2,000 Meters to Andriivka, a powerful documentary by Oscar-winning director Mstyslav Chernov. The film follows Ukrainian soldiers during the liberation of a village near Bakhmut, offering an unfiltered look at modern warfare and the human cost behind each meter reclaimed. These screenings invite reflection and conversation on what four years of full-scale war have meant on the ground in Ukraine. To request a screening kit, please fill out a request form here. 

Current 2,000 Meters to Andriivka screenings:

  • Feb 17: Miami University (Oxford, OH)
  • Feb 24: University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS)
  • Feb 24 Stetson University (Deland, FL) 

Razom Recommends January 2026

Published: January 2, 2026   

January brings a renewed sense of momentum – a chance to look ahead with clarity, purpose, and resolve. As we step into a new year, we’re excited to continue sharing Ukrainian culture in all its depth, creativity, and defiance. From film and literature to music, exhibitions, and conversations that challenge and inspire, this year’s recommendations invite you to engage with Ukraine not just as it endures, but as it creates, imagines, and leads.

5 Jan|NYC & Online

Ukrainian Language & Culture Online Courses

Join the UIA learning community this winter. Immerse yourself in the Ukrainian language and culture through engaging online courses. Guided by expert instructors, the interactive curriculum and small class sizes provide personalized attention at every stage of your learning journey. Continue building your skills and connect with Ukrainian culture in a meaningful way. The winter semester begins on January 5, 2026, offering three levels — Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced — each with multiple sublevels designed to support steady progress.

🔗Enroll HERE.

8 Jan| 6:30-9:00 PM | NYC

Ukrainian Institute of America Winter Social

The Young Members Committee of the Ukrainian Institute of America invites guests 35 and under — members and non-members alike — for a Winter Social! Join this lively group for a bustling evening of food, drinks, and conversation. Enjoy wintery views of Central Park from the UIA’s beautiful home while connecting with fellow young members and friends in a relaxed social setting.

🔗Tickets HERE. 

9 Jan| 7:00 PM | Chicago, IL

“My Tribute to the Creator” Exhibit

In this exhibit by Eleonora Bilinska, each painting carries not only an artistic title but also a dedication to a specific person, community, or meaningful theme in human existence. It is an artistic message to the viewer – warm, bright, and at the same time deeply philosophical – evoking feelings of joy, hope, love, and faith. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the painting “You Know, and the Stars Also Sing”, which the artist dedicated to Ukrainians of Chicago – offering a symbol of light and unity within the Ukrainian diaspora.

🔗Tichets HERE.  

10 Jan| 2:00 PM | NYC

Between the Bowery and the East River: Germans, Jews, and Ukrainians

The Ukrainian Museum seeks to bring communities together by highlighting the shared multi-cultural history of the neighborhood. Join for a seminar presentation by author, artist, and professor of political science, Alexander J. Motyl, who will discuss how waves of German, Jewish, and Ukrainian immigrants interacted with New York City’s geography, economy, politics, and culture to shape the Lower East Side and its gentrified progeny, the East Village. Prof. Motyl’s visual presentation will be followed by a Q&A and light refreshments.

🔗Tickets HERE. 

10 Jan| 6:00 PM | Chicago, IL

Peace for Ukraine Fundraising Concert

Come hear two outstanding musicians — Julia on violin and Myroslav on piano — as they come together in a beautifully expressive duo. The interplay between violin and piano creates a rich, intimate sound that brings both warmth and depth to the performance. All proceeds from this concert will support the orphanage in Zinkiv, helping provide care and essential resources for Ukrainian children with disabilities.

🔗More HERE.  

18 Jan| 2:00 PM | Chicago, IL

Caroling Together

Caroling Together event invites the community to gather in the Ukrainian Village and share in the joyful tradition of caroling. Rooted in centuries of Ukrainian culture, caroling is a way of bringing people together through song, celebration, and shared spirit. Join neighbors and friends of all ages as we fill the streets with music and mark the season together.

🔗More HERE. 

30-31 Jan| Cambridge, MA

2026 TCUP Conference

The 2026 Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program Conference welcomes registrations for in-person and online attendance. Titled “Solidarity Within and Beyond Ukraine”, the conference will explore the shifting dynamics of global solidarity with Ukraine (and the forces that undermine this solidarity) as well as the evolving forms of political engagement that are giving renewed meaning to the idea of Solidarity within Ukraine itself. The keynote speaker is Maksym Butkevych, human rights activist, journalist, and winner of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize (2025). Razom’s Ukraine on Campus offers stipends for in-person attendance. 

🔗Tickets HERE.   

🔗Stipends HERE. 

🔗Film Screening HERE. 

29 Jan| 6:00-8:30 PM |Cambridge, MA

Additionally, don’t miss the film screening of “2000 Meters to Andriivka”, a documentary by Mstyslav Chernov, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.

This event is organized by Harvard students in collaboration with Razom for Ukraine and it is presented as part of the 2026 Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program Conference: Solidarity Within and Beyond Ukraine.

31 Jan Deadline| Alberta, CA

Virtual DUSS Scholars Program

The University of Alberta’s Disrupted Ukrainian Scholars and Students Initiative is launching the fourth stream of its virtual residency program and welcomes applications from eligible Ukrainian scholars. The program is meant to support up to five Ukrainian scholars currently based in Ukraine or in Canada. The DUSS Initiative will provide successful applicants with $2,000 CDN honoraria to support their work and assist them in establishing scholarly connections with the UAlberta community. Where possible, successful applicants will be paired up with UAlberta mentors working in the same or adjacent fields of research for the purpose of collaboration during their virtual residency. Application Deadline is January 31, 2026.

🔗Apply HERE.

A Ukrainian masterpiece on the walls of Carnegie Hall

Published: December 30, 2025   

The original musical notes of the legendary Ukrainian song ‘Carol of the Bells’ are now displayed on the wall of Carnegie Hall!

This month, a new piece was officially opened in Carnegie Hall’s prestigious Composers Gallery: a high-quality facsimile of the original notes for ‘Shchedryk’, the iconic Ukrainian song known worldwide as ‘Carol of the Bells’. 

Its original manuscript is preserved at the Institute of Manuscripts of the V. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. The facsimile at Carnegie Hall offers an opportunity to recognize the Ukrainian origins of one of the world’s most renowned musical works.

Printed by Razom and delivered to Carnegie Hall’s archives, these notes are now on display, quickly becoming a favorite stop for guided tours of the historic venue.

It is significant that the cultural artifact is clearly identified as being composed by a Ukrainian artist, a fact that, until recently, was mainly unknown outside of the tight-knit Ukrainian diaspora. Now, they sit alongside notes by legends like Pete Seeger and just a step away from Beethoven.

Shchedryk first premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1922, when Ukrainians were fighting for freedom. Today, a century later, it has become a hallmark of the holiday season in the United States and stands as a testament to Ukrainian culture and resilience.

The 100th-anniversary concert, Notes from Ukraine, organized by Razom together with the Ukrainian Institute and the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (UCMF) on December 4, 2022, brought this history full circle.

Dozens of volunteers helped make the concert possible, and its success has become a model for Carnegie Hall staff: ‘Make it like the Carol of the Bells concert’ is now a phrase used when planning other events.

A century after its premiere on this very stage, these notes celebrate not just a song, but a story of resilience, identity, and the enduring spirit of Ukraine.

This historic moment is now documented in the book Shchedryk. We look forward to seeing its publication in English, so it will allow the story to connect with and touch the hearts of an audience around the world.

The Composers Gallery ensures that the Ukrainian story behind Carol of the Bells will be remembered, celebrated, and shared for generations to come.

The initiative became possible in tight collaboration with the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States, the Institute of Manuscripts of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine, the Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine, and the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations.

This is one example of how Ukrainian culture is being reclaimed and properly recognized worldwide. Join us in ensuring Ukraine’s story is told truthfully!

Razom Congratulates Ukrainian Films in the Running for the 98th Academy Awards

Published: December 17, 2025   

On December 16, 2025, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the official shortlists for the 98th Academy Awards, marking one of the major milestones in the 2026 Oscar season. Razom Cinema celebrates the achievements of all filmmakers whose works were part of this season, with particular recognition for films that amplify Ukrainian voices and stories connected to Ukraine.

This year’s shortlists reflect a wide range of timely, socially resonant, and artistically accomplished works, underscoring the continued global relevance of cinema rooted in lived experience and cultural truth. Over the years, Razom Cinema has supported films that center Ukrainian perspectives and bring stories from Ukraine to international audiences.

As the 2026 Oscar race moves forward, we want to congratulate all filmmakers whose work has been recognized by the Academy, acknowledging not only the honor of being shortlisted, but the dedication, creative excellence, and impact that led to this moment.

Final Oscar nominations will be announced in January 2026, with the Academy Awards ceremony scheduled for March 2026. Our team collected the list of this year’s contenders to give you a deeper insight into the top films from and about Ukraine that made it to the Academy nomination, take a look below!

Animated shorts: I Died in Irpin (dir. Anastasiia Falileieva)

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, 2024

At the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Falileieva and her boyfriend leave Kyiv to visit his parents in Irpin. The city becomes a battleground, but the danger is not only outside the house.

‘On February 24th in the morning, my boyfriend and I decided to go from Kyiv to Irpin to see his parents. It is hard for me to recall the chronology of those days. My mind blocks and minimises all the memories, erases them, but the only thing I know for sure is that every day, everything rapidly becomes worse.’

Animated shorts: Bound (dir. Masha Ellsworth)
USA, Ukraine, Germany, 2024

 

Against a backdrop of pastoral beauty, Ivanko and Galya must navigate a maze of miscommunications and pride, leaving them to question whether their love can truly blossom.

 

‘Bound’ was screened as a part of the Ukrainian Cultural Festival cinema program in October 2025 in NYC.

 

For more information: masha-makes-movies.com/bound

Documentary feature: 2000 Meters to Andriivka (dir. Mstyslav Chernov) 
Ukraine, United States, 2025

Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.

‘2000 Meters to Andrrivka’ was screened as a part of the Ukrainian Cultural Festival cinema program in October 2025 in NYC. Razom Cinema partners with Mstyslav Chernov and the PBS producing team supporting their ongoing distribution for educational purposes through our Ukraine on Campus program. 

Streaming: Youtube or PBS website starting Nov. 25th
Follow for more updates: 2000meterstoandriivka.com

Documentary feature: Sanatorium (Dir. Gar O’Rourke)
Ireland, Ukraine, France, 2025

Despite a war close by, mud treatments and electro-therapies continue at Kuyalnik Sanatorium near Odesa in southern Ukraine, where a small group searches for love, healing & happiness.

Streaming: BBC Storyville & MUBI
For more information: garorourke.com/portfolio/sanatorium

Documentary feature: Viktor (dir. Olivier Sabril)

Viktor, a young Deaf man in Kharkiv, watches warily during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A fan of samurai films and raised on stories of war, he dreams of becoming a warrior but is repeatedly denied when he tries to enlist. Eager to find purpose, Viktor embarks on a quest to find his place in the midst of a war he cannot hear.
“Viktor” was screened as a part of the Ukrainian Cultural Festival cinema program in October 2025 in NYC.

For more information: viktorfilm.com

Documentary feature: Checkpoint Zoo (dir. Josh Zeman)
United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, 2024

When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the world watched in horror as cities came under relentless fire. But few knew of the quiet heroism unfolding just outside Kharkiv, where the Feldman Ecopark Zoo sat between advancing Russian forces and the Ukrainian defenders.

More than 5,000 animals were trapped in the crossfire – helpless, frightened, and in desperate need of rescue. Against impossible odds, a small team of zookeepers and volunteers risked their lives day after day to save these creatures.

This is not just a story about animals. It is about humanity, resilience, and the Ukrainian spirit of defying destruction with compassion and courage.

Razom Cinema was able to host a special screening of Checkpoint Zoo at the Ukrainian Action Summit in DC before the theatrical release in the U.S. – connecting advocates to the story so that they can bring it to their communities and support the film in the theaters.

For more information: checkpointzoo.com 

Narrative short: Rock, Paper, Scissors (dir. Franz Böhm)

 

Ivan and his father, operating a small hospital at the frontline, are tested when a platoon of Russian soldiers approach their building, forcing them to make a difficult decision in order to protect their patients and their own lives.

 

The film features Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudyndkyi and won the 2025 BAFTA for Best British Short Film.

 

For more information:

rockpaperscissorsfilm.com

whoshere.co.uk

Make sure to follow our newsletter and social media for announcements on how to catch these films and more! In the meantime, we urge you to connect with your local theaters, art institutions, and other locations where you could potentially host a screening of one of these films (or reach out if you’re looking for more). Watch the films, bring your friends, and take it to social media to make noise around them!

Join the Effort to Power Ukraine Through Winter

Published: December 12, 2025   

The situation in Ukraine is growing darker, literally.

For the fourth fall in a row, Russia is targeting Ukraine’s energy system. These assaults cause widespread blackouts, sometimes for days, disrupting heating, water supply, medical care, and basic communications.

Blackouts as a Weapon of War

At Razom, we see these attacks for what they are: a deliberate tool of war meant to hurt the civilian population and exhaust the will of the nation.

When the lights go out, everything becomes harder and more dangerous. The absence of reliable autonomous power critically reduces communication efficiency and response time to threats, including missile attacks and the mass use of Shahed-type kamikaze drones, whose numbers in a single strike are now counted not in dozens, but in hundreds.

Without power, hospitals struggle to keep life-saving equipment running. First responders lose critical tools and reliable communication. Communities are left in the dark, literally and figuratively, just when they need information and connection most.

How Razom Is Powering Ukraine Through Winter

That’s why part of Razom’s ongoing winter preparedness plan is to procure Ukraine-made equipment that helps communities and service members endure when the lights go out.

Our teams on the ground in Ukraine are sourcing and delivering:

  • Generators to keep hospitals, clinics, and critical infrastructure powered.
  • Portable power stations to help medics, volunteers, and local communities stay connected and operational under blackout conditions.
  • Essential communications gear, such as radios, to help hospitals, first responders, and service members stay coordinated and mobile under fire.

 

Because Razom runs an in-house logistics fleet in Ukraine, every donation that goes towards procuring tech-enabled aid gets translated into real deliveries that reach the right hands – quickly and efficiently.

From the Frontlines: “Every Minute Matters”

The impact of this work is measured in lives saved.
“When several severely wounded arrive at once, every minute matters. Without power stations or generators, the equipment fails, and we can’t keep saving lives.”
 — Oleksii, National Guard of Ukraine

Emergency medics at mobile stabilization points near the frontlines often work under generator and flashlight light. Their ability to stabilize and evacuate the wounded depends on having a steady power supply and reliable communications.

When power equipment fails, care fails. When equipment works, people get a second chance.

How Your Gift Helps

The need for generators, power stations, and communications gear continues to grow as attacks escalate and Russia again targets Ukraine’s energy system.

Your gift today helps us procure, deliver, and maintain the tools that keep communities and service members safe under constant threat. In practical terms, your support:

✅ Keeps frontline hospitals and clinics powered.
✅ Supports secure communications for first responders and service members.
✅ Maintains connectivity in isolated or frontline areas.

For Ukraine to survive this winter and push back against escalating attacks, we must anticipate, prepare, and act now. Every dollar helps us procure more units, scale faster, and put them where they matter most.

Together, We Help Ukraine Shine Through the Dark

Russia’s strategy is to plunge Ukraine into darkness and cold. Our response is to bring light, power, and connection wherever we can.

When you give to Razom, you help ensure that hospitals can keep operating, medics can keep working, and communities can keep going, even when the grid goes down.

Donate now to help power Ukraine through winter: 

DONATE NOW

Razom Recommends December 2025

Published: November 26, 2025   

As we wrap up another extraordinary year, this season reminds us of the power of togetherness – razom. December brings a rich tapestry of Ukrainian cultural offerings that uplift, educate, and remind us why the world continues to stand with Ukraine. We hope these #RazomRecommends highlights will add light and inspiration to your holidays.

2 Dec| San Francisco, CA

‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’: Screening with Director Mstyslav Chernov

Join the Commonwealth World Affairs Club for a special screening of the new documentary 2000 Meters to Andriivka, followed by a conversation with acclaimed Ukrainian filmmaker and war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov. Following his historic account of the civilian toll in Mariupol, Chernov turns his lens toward Ukrainian soldiers—who they are, where they came from, and the impossible decisions they face in the trenches as they fight for every inch of their land.  

🔗 Tickets HERE. 

3 Dec| 6:30 – 9:30 PM| NYC

‘Facing War’: Film Screening 

The Ukrainian Institute of America, in partnership with the Dox Division and Think-Film Impact Production, is pleased to present the award-winning documentary Facing War. The documentary offers a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at Jens Stoltenberg‘s final year as NATO Secretary General. With unprecedented access to the inner sanctums of global power, the film chronicles Stoltenberg’s relentless diplomatic efforts to maintain alliance unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.There is no charge for the screening, but advance registration is requested. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and a ticketed wine reception.  

🔗Tickets HERE.

5 -6 Dec| 12 – 7 PM| NYC

International Holiday market 

Step into the holiday spirit at the Ukrainian Institute of America’s International Holiday Market, a festive celebration of culture, community, and craftsmanship. Experience cherished holiday traditions from across Europe, savor seasonal treats, and shop for distinctive, handcrafted gifts and décor in the elegant setting of our historic Fifth Avenue mansion.

🔗Tickets HERE. 

8 Dec| 7 PM| Chicago, IL

Porcelain War Screening + Q&A with filmmakers & reception (in partnership with Razom)

A screening of Porcelain War co-presented by: American Documentary | POV, Polsky Foundation, Razom for Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute for Modern Art, Chicago Grand Gallery, and Kartemquin Films. Post-Screening Q&A panel moderated by AmDoc Board member & former Chicago Times journalist Jane Hirt and will feature Porcelain War filmmakers Olivia Ahneman (producer), Brendan Bellomo (director), Camilla Mazzaferro (producer), and Olya Glantsman (Faculty/Staff Advisor, Ukrainian-American Cultural Association at DePaul University). 

🔗Tickets HERE.   

10 Dec| 7 PM| NYC

Viktor: Screening & Film Talk

Scandinavia House presents a special screening and film talk of Denmark’s official entry for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards: the bold war documentary Viktor, followed by a Q&A with director Olivier Sarbil. Fusing rigorous reportage with innovative cinematic subjectivity, this bold documentary from veteran war photographer Olivier Sarbil is a uniquely intimate portrait of a Deaf person’s experience of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

🔗Tickets HERE.  

13 Dec| 8 PM| NYC

Yalynka: Holiday Event 

As the holidays draw near, the Ukrainian Institute of America warmly invites you to Yalynka, our cherished celebration of the season. We look forward to gathering with friends for an evening of community and warmth. Enjoy a buffet dinner, full premium open bar, the vibrant sounds of Orchestra Hrim, and our lively raffle, all in the uniquely welcoming atmosphere of the Institute’s landmark home. Festive Ukrainian attire is encouraged. Guests are welcome to join for the entire evening or arrive after dinner from 10 PM.

🔗Tickets HERE.  

13-14 Dec| California

Ukrainian Christmas Carols

Esteemed choral director Marika Kuzma and her acclaimed Ensemble Cherubim invite you to enjoy the sounds of Ukrainian carols in California – with one concert in Los Angeles and one in Berkeley. Performed in Ukrainian interwoven with several other languages, the stirring program of songs, hymns, carols, and spoken word captures the intimacy of music traditionally sung in Ukrainian homes, churches, and town squares during the holiday season, including Mykola Leontovych’s renowned “Shchedryk” (“Carol of the Bells” and a host of musical treasures from ancient times to the present day.

🔗Tickets HERE. 

19 Dec| 7 PM| NYC

A Christmas Concert

A special holiday concert featuring acclaimed Ukrainian artists Valeriia Vovk and Fima Chupakhin. Their collaboration brings together Valeriia’s expressive, crystal-clear vocals and Fima’s nuanced, imaginative musicianship, creating a program that ranges from quietly introspective to boldly virtuosic. Drawing on the depth of Ukrainian musical tradition while adding their own contemporary sensibilities, they offer a concert that feels both fresh and deeply rooted. The concert will be followed by a reception. Advance registration is requested. 

🔗 Tickets HERE.   

A Language of Resilience and Freedom: Why Students Across America Choose Ukrainian

Published: September 30, 2025   

Language is never just words. It carries memory, identity, and resilience. For Ukrainians, every phrase holds centuries of struggle against erasure and the power of survival. That is why Russian imperial projects, past and present, have always attacked the Ukrainian language first.

Today, students across the United States are embracing Ukrainian – not only to study grammar and vocabulary, but to step into a community, to stand with a nation fighting for its future, and to learn the language of freedom.

Yet, many people with a personal or professional interest in Ukraine may still hesitate to commit to taking Ukrainian language classes or may not realize they can advocate for their institutions to offer them. Razom’s Ukraine on Campus initiative spoke with some Ukrainian language instructors and students across the United States and left these conversations with more reasons than ever to study the language and to push for its place in academic curricula.

One of the interviewees, Dr. Nataliya Shpylova Saeed, a preceptor in Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard, shared that students in her class come from various backgrounds and academic or career interests. They know that Ukrainian will help them excel in fields ranging from policy and war crimes investigation to history and regional studies, to name a few. “Learning language”, as Nataliya remarked, “gives a student access to the Ukrainian context.”

Nonetheless, one student’s motivations stood out to her the most. “I have students who started with Russian and, after 2022, chose not to invest in it because that’s their political statement [of solidarity with Ukraine]… And these students have no personal or family connection with Ukraine”. Taking Ukrainian is an act of resistance to the centuries-long attempts of russification, oppression of literature figures, artists, and discrimination against native speakers of the Ukrainian language.

Nataliya Shpylova Saeed

It is a way to announce that Ukraine, its culture, and its people have the right to exist and to remain sovereign. Similarly, William Debnam, a former Ukraine on Campus stipend recipient and a fourth-year PhD candidate at Columbia University now, began learning Ukrainian by chance during his bachelor’s degree at Cambridge. 

William Debnam in Kyiv

His curiosity, however, quickly grew into a strong and enduring interest leading to him being an elementary Ukrainian instructor. William believes that taking Ukrainian class puts you “in a select but growing group”. He even calls it a community, where “everyone is trying to support your growth and help each other”. William shared that, while Ukraine is often little-known abroad, this region has long been at the center of world history; this struggle of a stateless nation has made its literature and cinema very distinct and interesting. Studying Ukrainian, he says, opens many niches and opportunities and “gives a very interesting perspective on the world that you don’t get by studying more hegemonic cultures”. For those starting out, William recommends in-person classes and well-structured resources, such as Beginner’s Ukrainian, a textbook by Yuri Shevchuk, a Columbia professor.

Professor Oleksandra Wallo started her work at the University of Kansas 10 years ago. She emphasized the importance of high-quality instruction and finding a personal approach towards each student. At the University of Kansas, there’s a focus on Ukrainian programming and engagement with student groups and cultural activities. Many students become inspired by Ukraine’s versatile and authentic traditions. She explains that the students, who do decide to take Ukrainian, always find ways to put their knowledge to use in the future, whether they become translators, write dissertations about Ukraine and the region, or work at the organizations that support and help Ukraine. It makes her proud to see this knowledge being put to use immediately. 

Dr. Oleksandra Wallo

“This is the most rewarding thing that a professor can see. I’m glad that I can help them grow in their knowledge and I can provide the tools, the skills that will help them meet their goals, professional goals, and kind of these broader human goals, right? In understanding what it is to be standing up for justice in this world right now and how every one of us can have a part in that.”

While the above-mentioned Ukrainian language courses have been established at some universities for years or decades now, new offerings continue to grow. This year, the University of North Carolina launched an online course led by Dr. Serhii Tereshchenko. Another remarkable program created after the full-scale invasion is Dr. Olha Tytarenko’s course at Yale University. Dr. Tytarenko approaches her work with dedication and a strong mission in mind, reminding colleagues and university departments that introducing or expanding Ukrainian today “is both a matter of intellectual integrity and moral clarity.” She emphasized, “Slavic studies cannot remain dominated by the narratives of the colonizer. Supporting Ukrainian programming highlights the diversity and richness of Slavic cultures while countering a history of enforced marginalization. Enrollment numbers alone cannot measure the value of this work. At this moment, investing in Ukrainian is investing in the language of democracy, in cultural survival, and in the future of Slavic studies as a field.”

Ukraine on Campus Team

A Ukrainian language course today is more than an academic elective. It is an act of resistance against erasure, a statement of solidarity with Ukraine, and a way of joining a growing movement that places justice, democracy, and cultural survival at its heart.

We could not agree more that, “Investing in Ukrainian is investing in the language of democracy, in cultural survival, and in the future.”

When students choose Ukrainian, they choose to stand with freedom. The question is – will your campus give them that choice? Let us know about it – or reach out for help finding resources and advocating for the interdisciplinary study of Ukraine at your university or college. At Razom’s Ukraine on Campus initiative, we are dedicated to working together to bring more Ukrainian language and studies to campuses across the US.

Expanding the Movement Beyond the Classroom

The growing presence of Ukrainian language courses in U.S. universities is just the beginning. Strengthening this field also means building networks of students, scholars, and educators who carry the study of Ukraine into broader academic and cultural spaces. Conferences and convenings are one way this momentum takes root and flourishes. This year, students and instructors will have multiple opportunities to share their work, connect with peers, and deepen their engagement with Ukrainian studies:

To make participation more accessible, Ukraine on Campus will offer a number of travel stipends for students and presenters attending the these conferences. Click on the respective conference to access the application.

Visit the UoC Website

Choose Your Journey Through Razom’s “Against the Grain” Ukrainian Cultural Festival

Published: September 29, 2025   

This October, Razom for Ukraine’s “Against the Grain” festival pulses with visual art, performance, literature and film that chart Ukraine’s current moment: its beauty, its losses, its rebel voice. Across genres there are recurring themes – memory and witness; nature and environment; identity, hybridity, and resisting imposed narratives. The events of the festival aren’t just entertainment: they are acts of solidarity, windows into what Ukraine is enduring and creating. Whatever your inclination, you’ll find something to make your heart and mind move.

Below are three curated “journeys” through the festival – by interest or mood. Each journey gathers together a few events that echo one another so experiencing them in sequence (or pairing them) gives more resonance. But always remember: connection to Ukraine is what roots all of this. 

Journey 1: Nature, Landscape & Environment

For those who feel alive in landscapes, who see water, soil, flora, and wild creatures as central to our sense of home – and feel outrage as to what is at stake when war, corruption, or neglect intrude—this trail invites reflection and wonder.

  • The Editorial Office (Cinema, October 7) – Directed by Roman Bondarchuk, the film begins with Yura, a young biologist at a Natural History Museum, out in the southern steppe looking for an endangered groundhog. Instead, he witnesses forest arson. From there, the film branches into truth, media distortion, corruption, fake news, and the struggle to expose injustice – all while nature is being burned, ignored, or co-opted.
  • I Dream of Seeing the Steppe Again by Darya Tsymbalyuk (Visual Art, Oct 25) – Drawing on archival flora of the steppe, this participatory workshop asks us not only to remember what was, but to imagine what might be restored.
  • Darya Tsymbalyuk: Ecocide in Ukraine (Literature, Oct 26) — In Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia’s War, Tsymbalyuk traces the destruction of rivers, steppes, forests, and biodiversity under the shadow of war, weaving scientific insight, personal memory, and poetic observation. Her book discussion asks: when land is a battlefield, how do we speak for what is vanishing?
  • What the Water Told Me by Oleksandra Zborovska (Visual Art, Oct 26–30) – A work arising from the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, using cyanotypes and river water itself to map grief, memory, loss, and the elemental force of water.
  • Maria Reva: Endling, Ukraine, and the End of Fiction (Literature, Oct 29)  – In her novel Endling, Reva deploys the metaphor of “the last of a species” to consider war, extinction, memory, and survival in the Ukrainian landscape, reminding us that human fate is intertwined with threatened ecologies. Her reading and conversation will draw those threads into sharper relief, asking: what is left when both people and land face erasure?

This journey invites you to slow down, to place yourself in wild places (or in memory of them), and to see how nature and art are entwined – and how what happens to the land happens to people.

Journey 2: Memory, Trauma & Witnessing

If you’re drawn to work that holds up mirrors to loss, that archives what others try to erase, that makes private grief public – this is your route through the festival.

  • Viktor (Cinema, October 8) — A 2024 documentary by Olivier Sarbil, Viktor follows a deaf war photographer in Kharkiv as he uses his camera as a weapon of witness, capturing the invasion through his silent gaze. The film’s stark black-and-white imagery and subjective sound design make silence into a presence — reminding us that even in the absence of voice, memory persists.
  • Cassandra by Lesia Ukrainka (Performing arts, Oct 10–19) – Through the lens of myth and prophecy, voices that are silenced or disbelieved become powerful; Cassandra’s curse becomes all the more resonant given modern disinformation, war atrocities, unheeded warnings.
  • Memory Patterns by Anna Seniuk (Visual Arts, October 14-18) – Fragile fragments of memory inscribed in paper, in photographs, in tears and light; what remains when the archive is partial, when some witnesses are gone.
  • Short Film Programs from KISFF & Linoleum (Cinema, October 14, October 21) – Many films in these selections confront displacement, identity, rupture. The short-form gives urgency.
  • 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Cinema, October 23) – Directed by Mstyslav Chernov, this harrowing documentary follows a Ukrainian platoon as they push through a heavily fortified forest toward liberated Andriivka, tracing each meter with bodycam footage, reflection, and grief. In sequences that register exhaustion, camaraderie, and loss, the film becomes a trench-level chronicle of war’s relentlessness and a portrait of memory in motion.
  • Voices of Occupation: Stories of Cultural Survival (Literature, Oct 24) – This event brings together writers from Ukraine’s occupied eastern and southern regions, including Olia Hercules, Volodymyr Rafeyenko, and Natalia Shpylova-Saeed, to explore the lived experience of occupation, memory under duress, and cultural survival. Their conversation presses on what it means to live amidst erasure and how stories insist on existence even in places marked by exclusion and control.
  • Our Life Behind Barbed Wire (Performing Arts, November 1) – Evoking the experiences of World War II–era forced laborers, and tying past horrors to displacement and current war, this piece uses song, storytelling, image, and ritual to bear witness.

In every piece you’ll find the fracture of experience made visible: a memory that aches to be reclaimed, a silence that demands breaking. These works remind us that trauma is not simply something to be narrated, but something for which new forms must be invented—so that witnesses, past and present, are not lost to time.

Journey 3: Identity, Hybridity, & Boundary-Breaking

If you’re energized by hybrid art, by work that refuses neat genre boxes, by cross-cultural experiments and daring forms, then this is your route.

  • DIA/spora by Igor Martiniouk (Visual Arts, October 2-12) – Diasporic identity, reimagined tradition, art that dialogues across distance and loss.
  • Apocollapse! by Dean Temple (Performing Arts, October 13) – A stage reading of a new play that weaves performance, music, text, politics: collapse not just physical, but moral, informational.
  • U are the Universe (Cinema, October 13) – A work that experiments with structure, and uses documentary stylings with fiction, that fold in surreal or symbolic detail.
  • A Romantic from Kharkiv: Music of Sergei Bortkiewicz (Performing Arts, October 17-18) – Also joining this arc of hybridity is a live piano recital by Anna and Dmitri Shelest celebrating the works of Sergei Bortkiewicz. Listeners will be invited into a nuanced story of musical identity: a Ukrainian-born Romantic composer whose lush, melancholic style drew from both Eastern and Western traditions.
  • Lines We Cross: Translating Ukraine (Literature, October 22) — In this conversation, Ukrainian novelist/poet Oksana Lutsyshyna and American author Sam Wachman explore how migration, queerness, language, and translation shape new identities across borders. Their dialogue provokes questions: when words cross languages, what shifts—and what remains irreducible?
  • Light on the Waves (Visual Arts, October 30 – November 2) – For its video and media art forms; place, displacement, borderlands shown through moving images.

These pieces insist that identity is never static, especially in times of rupture – it is always entangled, overlapping, translated. In pushing beyond borders of genre, tradition, and narrative, they show that hybridity itself becomes a site of creative possibility and a form of resistance.

Overarching Threads

What ties all three of these journeys – whether you follow water and soil, memory and loss, or boundary-crossing art – is not mere proximity or shared origin, but a deeper, restless insistence. Time and again these works answer war’s erasures with resistance; they tell truths that refuse to be silenced – about land, about the scars of history, about justice. They assert identity and belonging, even under siege: sometimes layered, sometimes hybrid, sometimes contradictory, but always claimed with urgency. And above all, they remind us that art is not passive. Here, the artist becomes witness, archivist, memory-keeper, protestor: not merely reflecting reality, but recording, preserving, and refusing disappearance. To attend Against the Grain is to join in that collective act of resistance – not as a distant observer, but as someone willing to be moved, unsettled, and inspired to bear witness in one’s own way.

Why You Should Attend

Because this festival is more than culture: it is solidarity. Because seeing art like this matters – not only for Ukrainians but for everyone who cares about truth, beauty and justice. Because connection isn’t symbolic: we bear witness, we learn, we are changed. Whatever your interest, pick a journey (or mix across) – and dive into the world of Ukrainian artists who go Against the Grain.

UCF Website