Recent weeks have brought another wave of devastating Russian attacks across Ukraine, reminding us that supporting Ukraine also means showing up for its culture and the people creating it.
This October, Ukrainian stories, artists, filmmakers, and musicians are taking the stage across New York. Go see them, bring a friend, share their work, and help make sure Ukrainian voices continue to be seen and heard.
Here’s what Razom recommends this month.
Solitude at New York City Ballet
October 7, 10, 11, 15 & 16 | Lincoln Center
Alexei Ratmansky’s Solitude returns to New York City Ballet as part of Eclectic NYCB I.
Set to music by Gustav Mahler, the ballet is a meditation on grief inspired by Russia’s war against Ukraine. At its center is a father mourning the loss of his child, transforming the reality of war into a deeply personal work about loss, memory, and solitude.
It is also a powerful example of how Ukraine’s story continues to reach audiences on some of the world’s most prominent cultural stages.
Where: David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
When: October 7, 10, 11, 15 & 16
A Well for the Thirsty at the New York Film Festival
October 8 & 9 | Film at Lincoln Center
A landmark of Ukrainian poetic cinema returns to the big screen.
Yuri Ilyenko’s A Well for the Thirsty (Криниця для спраглих) will screen at the 64th New York Film Festival in the North American premiere of its new 4K restoration.
Completed in 1965, Ilyenko’s debut feature was suppressed by Soviet authorities and remained unreleased until 1987. Nearly without dialogue, the film follows an elderly man living alone while memories and visions of his family surround him.
The restoration was created from the original 35mm camera negative preserved by the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre in Kyiv, making these screenings an opportunity to experience an essential work of Ukrainian cinema as it was meant to be seen.
Where: Film at Lincoln Center
When: October 8 at 6:30 PM and October 9 at 12:45 PM
Oleksandr Dovzhenko: Earth and Empire at Metrograph
October 10–18 | Metrograph
October offers another chance to dive deeper into Ukrainian film history with Oleksandr Dovzhenko: Earth and Empire, a retrospective celebrating one of Ukraine’s most influential filmmakers.
The program brings films including Earth, Arsenal, Zvenygora, Aerograd, Ivan, and Shchors back to the big screen alongside works by filmmaker Yulia Solntseva. Several titles will be presented on 35mm, with select screenings accompanied by live music.
Beyond rediscovering Dovzhenko’s extraordinary visual language, the retrospective offers audiences an opportunity to see these films through a Ukrainian lens, beyond the Soviet framework through which Ukrainian cinema has so often been presented internationally.
Where: Metrograph, 7 Ludlow Street, New York
When: October 10–18
Kommuna Lux: Benefit Concerts for Ukrainian Children
October 11 | Philadelphia & October 13 | New York City
Odesa-based ensemble Kommuna Lux brings its energetic mix of klezmer and Ukrainian folk music to Philadelphia and New York City for two special benefit concerts.
The concerts support Common Man for Ukraine’s humanitarian assistance and trauma-recovery retreats for Ukrainian children who have lost a parent in the war — an opportunity to experience music from Odesa while supporting children and families affected by Russia’s war.
Philadelphia: October 11 at 3:00 PM | KleinLife, Northeast Philadelphia
Get tickets for Philadelphia
New York City: October 13 at 7:30 PM | Hudson Yards Synagogue
Get tickets for New York City
People Power: Ukraine’s “Unreasonable” Women
October 15 | New York City
Join Razom for a special live taping of Gaslit Nation celebrating Ukrainian women and their power to lead, create, organize, and bring communities together.
Journalist, author, filmmaker, and Gaslit Nation host Andrea Chalupa joins Razom CEO Dora Chomiak for a conversation about Ukrainian women, resilience, leadership, and the power of collective action.
The evening will also include an advance preview of Chalupa’s forthcoming book, A Reasonable Guide for Unreasonable Women: 20 Steps to Find Your Purpose and Power in a World on Fire, live jazz by French singer Marine Futin, refreshments, a silent auction, and a book signing.
When: October 15, 6:30–9:00 PM
Where: New York City
Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival
October 18–November 6 | Across New York City
One of our biggest recommendations this month is also one of our biggest celebrations of Ukrainian culture.
Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival returns for its fourth year, bringing Ukrainian cinema, music, theater, literature, and visual arts to venues across New York City.
The festival opens at Carnegie Hall on October 18 with the U.S. premiere of Ukrainian composer Oleh Bezborodko’s Steel, Violet, Rage. Inspired by a poem by Ukrainian soldier and poet Maksym Kryvtsov, who was killed while defending Ukraine, the work will be performed by the Shelest Piano Duo with the Brandywine Valley Symphony Chamber Orchestra.
From there, the festival moves across the city with Ukrainian films including Sanatorium, Nice Ladies, Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, Silent Flood, Honeymoon, To the Victory! and Cuba & Alaska, alongside documentary and animated shorts.
The program also includes The Reckoning, developed from verified witness testimony gathered by The Reckoning Project; Poet as Witness at Poets House; programming dedicated to Lesia Ukrainka at the New York Public Library; and much more.
The festival continues into November and concludes at Carnegie Hall on November 6 with Unbreakable Harmony, featuring the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum Chamber Girls Choir and the Westchester Children’s Chorus.
There is a lot to choose from, so pick an event, invite someone who may not know much about Ukrainian culture, and experience it together.
When: October 18–November 6
Where: Venues across New York City
Coming next: Oksana Lyniv conducts Tosca at the Met
Beginning November 1 | Metropolitan Opera
And one final recommendation to put on your calendar now.
Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv returns to the Metropolitan Opera this November to conduct Puccini’s Tosca.
Lyniv, who made her Met debut conducting Turandot in 2024, will lead six performances beginning November 1. Her return to one of the world’s most important opera stages is another moment to celebrate Ukrainian talent at the highest level of international culture.
Where: Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center
When: November 1, 6, 9, 14, 17 & 20
Show up for Ukraine
Ukraine needs continued international support as Russia continues its war and attacks on Ukrainian communities. But supporting Ukraine also means knowing what Ukrainians are fighting to protect.
Culture is part of that story.
This month, watch a Ukrainian film. Hear Ukrainian music. Support Ukrainian artists. Bring a friend. Share what you discover.
Every audience matters. Every conversation helps keep Ukraine seen, heard, and understood.