Germany will host a series of cultural events marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. They include screenings of the films “Culture vs War” and “U Are the Universe” by Pavel Ostikov, the Volia/Воля festival, a performance by Ukrainian singer Maria Burmaka and Ukrainian Culture Days.
On 22 August at 18:00, the Kulturhaus Tivoli in Gotha will screen the feature-length film “Culture vs War”, according to the Ukrainefreunde Gotha community.
“Culture vs War” is a documentary featuring the stories of Ukrainian artists. The film’s protagonists include the band Antytila, cinematographers Serhii Mykhalchuk and Yaroslav Pilunskyi, actor and director Akhtem Seitablaiev, writer and musician Serhii Zhadan, photographers Kostyantyn and Vlada Liberov, kobzar Taras Kompanichenko, cinematographer Mykhailo Illienko, actor Dmytro Linartovych, and actor, director-general and artistic director of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre and former Culture Minister of Ukraine (2014; 2016–2019) Yevhen Nyshchuk.
The event is supported by the Network of Ukrainian Film Clubs in Germany as part of the international film marathon “Empowered UA”.
On 22 August, the fourth Volia/Воля festival will take place at Hotel Continental in Berlin, according to the art space’s website.
The programme includes Ukrainian cuisine by the Monday Kitchen community; the Technosapiens exhibition exploring human evolution in the technological age and its impact on the planet; a screening of the animated project “Yo! Yo!” by Ukrainian artists and sisters Michelle and Nicole Feldman; a variety show by Bezlich, a creative community of young Ukrainian artists in Berlin; an improvisational performance by the IMLA laboratory; a concert featuring Hennadii Boichenko, Mykola Lebid, Ihor Biriuchenko and Jakob Zimmer-Harwood; as well as a DJ set and Silent Disco.
On 24 August at 19:00, Ukrainian singer Maria Burmaka will give a chamber concert at the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Berlin. Burmaka announced the event on Facebook.
Admission is free, with an option to make a donation. The funds raised will be directed towards the needs of Ukraine’s Defence Forces.
On 24 August at 20:30, Pavel Ostikov’s film “U Are the Universe” will be screened at the Neue Zukunft open-air cinema in Berlin, according to the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin.
“U Are the Universe” is a feature-length film about Andrii, a space trucker. After an explosion destroys Earth, he becomes the only surviving human until a French scientist named Catherine makes contact with him.
The film will be shown in Ukrainian and French with English subtitles.
The third Sounds of Ukraine festival of Ukrainian chamber music will also take place in Cologne and Düsseldorf from 22 August to 24 September, featuring works by Ukrainian classical composers.