Ukrainian Season in France: Voyage to Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian Institute (UI), a state agency engaged in cultural diplomacy (including organising this programme), the Ukrainian Season in France will be the most ambitious cultural initiative since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. “A year and a half ago, it seemed impossible,” says UI Director Volodymyr Sheyko. “This is unprecedented attention to Ukraine, and it is gratifying that it is no longer defined solely by war.”
However, the language used by representatives of both countries to describe the programme is largely military in nature. At a press conference held at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, metaphors such as “cultural front”, “struggle in the field of culture”, “weapons of the spirit” and “long-range culture” were used repeatedly; ultimately, the organisers chose the slogan La culture contre-attaque! (“Culture strikes back!”), which shows that the military dimension remains the main selling point for Ukrainian culture abroad.
“We know nothing about Ukrainian cultural identity, but we understand that it is under attack from Russia and threatened with extinction. This is unacceptable to us, and we want to learn more,” was the general message of speeches by French politicians. The director of the French Institute (co-organiser of the programme), Eva Nguyen Binh, identified several areas of cooperation: listening to what Ukraine wishes to say about itself; discovering what Ukraine can teach; and creating connections that will continue after the Season ends.
To this end, the organisers are inviting the French to take a Voyage to Ukraine — the official name of the Ukrainian Season. While real travel is dangerous, they advise limiting participation to programme events. However, politicians themselves do not shy away from visiting Ukraine: for example, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot became the first foreign minister to visit Sumy, 20 km from the front line, after 2022. He also visited Kharkiv and was struck by the intensity of cultural life there. “In Kharkiv, people often speak Russian, but they think in Ukrainian, and they will defend their culture to the last breath. And we must support this fighting spirit,” says Barrot.
Season opening: Théâtre de la Ville
The opening of the Season of Ukraine in France took place at the Théâtre de la Ville and consisted of two parts: speeches by politicians, and a discussion and concert programme. The Théâtre de la Ville is known as a place of political engagement and bold statements. It was within its walls that France’s most notorious theatre scandal of the 21st century unfolded, when far-right Catholic groups pelted visitors to Castellucci’s play, which offered a mildly unorthodox image of Christ, with eggs and stink bombs. During the opening of the Season, bombs appeared only in a video about Ukraine, but a scandal nevertheless erupted.
French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati sought to use the event for political advantage. “They didn’t want to let me in, but I’m going to speak anyway,” she began, prompting boos from the audience. Her speech itself contained nothing unexpected; the scandal lay in the fact that Dati, who has a history of corruption allegations and is supported by the right wing, will stand against the current mayor Anne Hidalgo and her centre-left team in the upcoming municipal elections. Hidalgo spoke at the Ukrainian event, so Dati tried to appear as well, contrary to protocol (Ukraine and France were represented by one minister each — Jean-Noël Barrot and Andriy Sybiha — so a second French minister disrupted the diplomatic balance). This small detail demonstrates the event’s significance: top French politicians considered the audience important enough to stage their own political show.
Anne Hidalgo noted that she had visited Kyiv five times since 2022 and had witnessed the horrors committed by Russia. She recalled that Paris had welcomed Ukrainian refugees throughout the war, sent generators to Ukrainian cities, and now hoped to help the French discover Ukrainian culture. She was followed by First Lady Olena Zelenska, who reported that 15 French museums are introducing Ukrainian language support (audio guides, booklets or digital applications) and that 12 French universities have joined the Ukrainian studies network.
The discussion and concert segment, moderated by literary scholar and ambassador of Ukrainian culture in France Tetyana Ogarkova and Fabrice Puchault, head of a department at the ARTE media platform, opened with a striking performance by violinist Bohdana Pivnenko accompanied by a Suspilne video depicting everything from destroyed Ukrainian cities to a stroboscopic montage of paintings by Ukrainian artists. Next came bandura player Volodymyr Voyt with his original soundscape about waiting for spring in February 2022. This traditional Ukrainian instrument, often associated with embroidered shirts and hopak dances, proved unexpectedly suited to contemporary music and the interpretation of current events. Voit was joined by writer Andriy Kurkov, who read Letter of Darkness, asking whether guests from France would visit Ukraine when the war ends and the darkness — physical and metaphorical — imposed by Russia dissipates. Later, actress Juliette Binoche responded from the stage: “Of course I’ll come!” She read a French translation of a poem by Iryna Tsilyk, which she had chosen herself: poignant lyrics about everyday life during the war, moving many in the audience to tears.
The strongest reaction came during a video link with Yaryna Chornohuz and Artem Chapay: their military uniforms and heartfelt reflections on literature as a means for soldiers to preserve their humanity, as well as their admiration for French writers who once joined the defence forces, prompted a standing ovation lasting several minutes. The 900-seat hall was overflowing, with people sitting in the aisles. The programme concluded with a dynamic performance by Dakh Daughters, a band well known and loved in France.
Culture strikes back: 4 months, 20 cities, 50 events
What does the programme of the Season of Ukraine in France include? Voyage to Ukraine will run from December 2025 to the end of March 2026 and will cover 20 French cities, including Paris, Marseille, Lille, Rennes, Metz, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes, Caen and Strasbourg. This scale became possible thanks to significant financial support from the French side, which accounts for two-thirds of the total budget (UI provides about €200,000; the French Institute provides €300,000 from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and €150,000 from the French Ministry of Culture; the UI also attracted about €50,000 in sponsorship from French businesses). The Season’s programme includes around fifty events: film screenings, theatre, concerts, exhibitions, literary events and discussions. Some highlights follow.
Kharkiv and Lille
Lille has been Kharkiv’s sister city since 1978. As part of the Season, Lille will host a literary evening with Kharkiv poets Serhiy Zhadan and Yuliya Ilyukha. The Lille Opera will host a concert by Kharkiv pianists Ihor Sedyuk and Oleh Kopelyuk. The Palace of Arts will display Repin’s famous painting Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks from the Kharkiv Art Museum, accompanied by a discussion on Russia’s imperial appropriation of Ukrainian culture. An exhibition of the Kharkiv School of Photography will take place at two train stations in Lille. Plans also include a screening of the film Militantropos, a DakhaBrakha concert, and a performance by choreographer Olha Dukhovna.
Bucha and Dunkirk
The “martyr cities” (as the programme describes them) will host a meeting between teenagers from Bucha, who are mapping Russia’s crimes, and young people from Dunkirk, who are studying the history of the evacuation and associated tragedy. Historians and researchers from both countries will participate. The groups will compare spontaneous forms of memorialisation and discuss mechanisms of shaping collective memory.
Cinema: Dovzhenko, Vasyanovych, documentaries
The French Cinematheque – one of the world’s largest film archives and a major cultural centre – will host a nine-day retrospective of Oleksandr Dovzhenko, showing 17 films by the most important Ukrainian director. “This will be the largest Dovzhenko retrospective abroad, and possibly the largest ever,” says Olena Honcharuk, creative director of the Dovzhenko Centre. “It will allow us to trace his transformation from a free creator to a master of propaganda who, despite Soviet pressure, preserved his Ukrainian identity. Speaking about Dovzhenko is speaking about a global legacy, not only a Ukrainian one.”
The French National Film Centre (CNC) will screen Valentyn Vasyanovych’s To the Victory!, which reflects on the challenges Ukraine may face after the war: depopulation, broken families and populist rule. The director made the film with the support of the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Cinema, managed by the CNC.
Ukrainian documentaries will be screened at the FIPADOC festival in Biarritz and at the Forum des images cultural centre in Paris: 2000 Metres to Andriyivka by Mstyslav Chernov, My Dear Thèo by Alisa Kovalenko, Cuba & Alaska by Yehor Troyanovskyy, Queens of Joy by Olha Hibelinda, and others. The latter, about three drag queens fighting for Ukraine, will also be shown at the Everybody festival, which explores the role of the body in contemporary communities. “This is one of the films supported by ARTE,” explains Olha Hibelinda. “It gave twelve teams of Ukrainian filmmakers the opportunity to tell their stories.”
Music: Silvestrov and Dakh Daughters
Another pair of sister cities, Kyiv and Toulouse, will mark 50 years of partnership this year. The Toulouse Capitole will host a concert by Valentyn Silvestrov, Ukraine’s most internationally recognised composer. His music will also be performed at the festival in Saint-Denis, alongside works by Lesya Dychko, Hanna Havrylets and Viktoriya Polova. The Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris will host a concert by Dakh Daughters, Lupayte tsu skalu (“Break This Rock”).
Theatre: Giraffe Mons
In autumn 2025, the Afanasyev Kharkiv Puppet Theatre’s production Giraffe Mons was staged in France. The play is based on a Kharkiv urban legend about a giraffe who befriended a doctor during the German occupation and came looking for him after the zoo was bombed, only to be shot by a Nazi officer. In director Oksana Dmytriyeva’s interpretation, however, the story ends happily. The performances were so successful that the play was invited back for a tour: as part of the Ukrainian Season, it will be shown in six French cities.
Visual arts: Hryshchenko, Kadan, Kakhidze
The Grimaldi Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer will host an exhibition of works by a Ukrainian artist whose life was closely linked to this French city. Oleksa Hryshchenko (known in France as Alexis) belonged to the Paris School, which shaped European modernism in the early 20th century. He lived in Cagnes-sur-Mer for over 30 years, and the landscapes of the French Riviera strongly influenced his work.
The Poggi Gallery in Paris is hosting a solo exhibition by Nikita Kadan, recently named by ArtReview as one of the 100 most influential figures in art. Kadan’s project explores the fragility of the human body and mind during war, and the resilience of life amid ruins. The Nantes Art Museum will host a performance by Alevtina Kakhidze, an artist whose “drawings about war” appeared in Artforum’s Top 10 list in 2025. Kakhidze will invite visitors to reflect on the ecological dimension of the war in Ukraine.
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“The extensive programme of the Season of Ukraine in France is only the beginning of cultural cooperation between our countries, and I invite cultural figures from both countries to propose their projects and contribute to its continuation,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. Let us hope that his prediction comes true, that newly established cultural ties prove lasting, and that what seems impossible today will one day become normal. For instance, Ukrainian directors might cease to seem exotic on the Cannes Film Festival jury. Or, when a Ukrainian actress wins a César for a supporting role, media may discuss why she missed the afterparty. Or a Ukrainian play may receive a negative review in Le Monde as a routine participant in the season.
Or, at least, Ukrainian culture may begin to be discussed outside the “support mode”, without the label “special focus” — simply because it is valuable and interesting. Equal among equals.
