The festival of Ukrainian culture "Ucraina. La terra di confine" invites everyone watching the war in Ukraine to discover the human dimension of the historical events of the last eight years, the festival's press service reported.
According to the plan, after watching documentaries and feature films, works by Ukrainian photographers and artists, the audience will get acquainted with modern Ukrainian art practices and see an interesting original European cultural product. Kateryna Filyuk has become the festival curator, the University of Palermo, the Municipality of Palermo, and the Embassy of Ukraine in Italy has become its organizers.
"Art provides an opportunity to speak to those who usually compose figures in statistical or military reports, allows people to talk to people about what they have experienced and seen, comprehend their own experience and compare it with their own," the organizers said in a statement.
All cultural events are free, except for the pre-premiere screening of Valentyn Vasyanovych's film "Reflection", the ticket price is 5 euros. Also, the festival will raise funds to transfer to organizations concerned with preventing the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
Festival program:
11 March - 31 April, LA FONDAZIONE SANT’ELIA, SALA CAVALLERIZZA
Via Maqueda, 81, Palermo
Exhibition of photographs by Oleksandr Glyadelov "War" 2014-2020
As a military correspondent, Oleksandr Glyadelov worked in the east of Ukraine. From 2014 to 2020, he covered the fighting of the Ukrainian military and separatists, supported by the regular Russian army.
12 March, 06.00 pm, CINEMA VITTORIO DE SETA
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Via Paolo Gili, 4, Palermo
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
Directed by Iryna Tsilyk
2020
Documentary
74 min
The film is about a family living in the so-called "red zone" of Donbas, where hostilities have been going on for six years. Everyday life for civilians in the frontline has changed radically. Anna, 36, is raising four children on her own. The shelling in Krasnohorivka, where the film's heroes live, does not stop. However, despite all the difficulties, this family is amicable and cheerful. Mom and kids play musical instruments and, most interestingly, make their films about their lives during the war.
20 March, 06.00 pm, CINEMA VITTORIO DE SETA
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Via Paolo Gili, 4, Palermo
Bad roads
Directed by Natalka Vorozhbyt
2020
Drama, military
124 min
Five broken roads. Five stories about love, hate, trust, betrayal and violation of personal borders against the background of a breach of state borders.
26 March, 06.00 pm, CINEMA VITTORIO DE SETA
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Via Paolo Gili, 4, Palermo
This Rain Will Never Stop
Directed by Alina Horlova
2020
103 min
"This Rain Will Never Stop" takes viewers on a powerful and visually exciting journey through the endless human cycle of war and peace. The film follows the life of 20-year-old Andriy Suleiman, who is trying to secure a sustainable future while working with victims of the armed conflict. From the conflict in Syria to the war in Ukraine, Andriy's existence seems to be framed by the eternal flow of life and death.
10 April, 06.00 pm, CINEMA VITTORIO DE SETA
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Via Paolo Gili, 4, Palermo
Volcano
Directed by Roman Bondarchuk
2018
Dramedi
106 min
Lucas is going to the border with Crimea as part of the OSCE monitoring mission. But after a strange coincidence, he finds himself in a town in southern Ukraine, where he meets a local freak named Vova. Following Vova, Lucas slowly plunges into the world of the Ukrainian province, where life is not logical or structured.
25 March, 05.00 pm, ZACentrale
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Via Paolo Gili, 4, Palermo
"Licking the Wounds of War." Presentation of the book by Lia Dostleva and Andriy Dostlev
The artists purchased the salt lamp tank at the Bakhmut souvenir shop in late 2016. The story told in the book revolves around that souvenir. The Dostlevs, who had been forced to flee their native Donetsk since the start of the war and now live in Poznan, Poland, began slowly licking salt every day. In this way, they tried to show that the war exists every day and inflicts new wounds on all those involved, even if it is far away. Salt on the lamp finally ended in 2021, but the war is not over.
Bakhmut (formerly Artemivsk), in eastern Ukraine, has always been known for its salt mines. In 2014, the city was occupied by pro-Russian terrorists from the so-called "DPR" for a short time. Various salt lamps have always been an essential part of the souvenir industry. However, these, in the form of a tank, appeared only after the city's liberation by the Ukrainian military.
Such souvenirs are only a tiny aspect of the general trauma of Ukrainian society caused by the war that began in 2014. We, Ukrainians, still have to deal with this trauma, and it will be a long and challenging process that might take years—one of the many wounds of war that we will have to lick.
25 March, 11.00 am -06.30 pm, CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE DI FOTOGRAFIA
Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Via Paolo Gili, 4, Palermo
"On the front line." Presentation of photographs documenting the war in Ukraine.
IZOLYATSIA, 89books and Centro Internazionale di Fotografia call on Ukrainian photographers to submit their latest works, which reflect the fighting that is taking place in Ukraine these days. Photo reports from the streets taken by the war, portraits of relatives and friends who are witnesses of the military conflict - these photos will allow you to look from the inside at the tragedy that the Ukrainian people are experiencing during these weeks of the war.
16 March, 09.00 pm, CINEMA ROUGE ET NOIR
Palermo Piazza Verdi, 8, Palermo
Pre-premiere screening of Valentyn Vasyanovych's film "Reflection" presented in the main competition program for the "Golden Lion" of the 78th Venice Film Festival.
With the support of Associazione Wilder, Cinema City and Cinema Rouge et Noir. Ticket price: 5 euros.
Reflection by Valentyn Vasyanovych
2021
Military drama
125 min
Serhiy, a Ukrainian civilian and later military surgeon, was captured by the Russian army during the Russian-Ukrainian war in eastern Ukraine. While in captivity, Serhiy witnessed horrific scenes of humiliation, bullying and torture of Ukrainians at the hands of the Russian occupiers. During the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia, Serhiy is released from captivity. He returns to his former life and tries to find a sense of life by rebuilding his relationship with his ex-wife and daughter. He learns in a new way to be human, to be a father who knows how to love and support his loved ones.
Valentyn Vasyanovych recently stated: "Yes, I am staying in Kyiv. I want to be among people aware of their ethnic, cultural and political affiliation. I want to be among these people to gain important experiences that will help me create true stories about them."