With its first screening, the 16th Travelling International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA in Kherson Region visited the village of Strohanivka in the Prysyvaska United Territorial Community.

“This is probably the only community in the region that can boast a growing population. And no wonder, because the feeling of comfort is everywhere here: a new playground, the roads are patched up, flowers everywhere. And most importantly, the people are just great. But we still had some adventures. On Monday morning, on 18 November, there was an emergency power blackout in Stroganivka, so we had to hold the screening without power, internet or even cell connection. The support of local residents was striking: they did not just show us the way, they also helped us equip  the room with a gas power generator. Thanks to this, the festival guests had a chance to watch The Cleaners with comfort and home-like coziness,” says Ilona Korotitsyna, the director of the Vgory Online Newspaper and a moderator for the Travelling Festival.

The film The Cleaners uncovers the secrets of “digital garbage collectors,” whom the Silicon Valley selected from thousands of people, charging them with removing “inappropriate” content from internet pages. A “cleaner” usually reviews and evaluates thousands of images which are hard to look at, from battleground pictures to pornography. This doesn’t leave their mental state unaffected. But there are fundamental questions behind their work: what makes an image a piece of art or propaganda, and what defines journalism.

The audience watched bravely, sometimes closing their eyes from the horrors of our reality which were shown on the screen and so skillfully hidden in real life. “We need these people so much, and we weren’t even aware of their existence,” shared one of the viewers.

Olena Stariuk, a lawyer and the head of the Public Reception of CO Charity and Health Fund, the coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in Kherson Region, told the audience about online security rules and ways to protect oneself from harassment and cyberbullying.

“Digital technology creates opportunities for communication, self-education, freedom of expression and so on. But this is accompanied with risks for human rights. Children are especially vulnerable in this situation. The internet should entertain us and let us grow, not threaten us,” emphasized Olena.

The Travelling Festival in Kherson Region will come to the following villages and towns: Brylivka (Vynogradiv UTC), Chaplynka, Novotroyitske, Kalanchak.

In Kherson, the Festival will open on 1 December and be open until 10 December in the Multiplex Cinema, MassON Art Club, and the library branch #3. The detailed schedule of the screenings is available here.