Despite the difficult conditions, on 10 December, online screenings of the films The Bright Path and A House Made of Splinters were held within the 19th Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast. The organisers managed to reach the village of Chervona Sloboda in Kompaniivska territorial community and hold the events, despite the unstable connection and power outage.

Olena Mirkhaidarova, coordinator of Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast, tells how it was made possible.

Online discussion within the framework of the 19th Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast

Saturday at the 19th of Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast was very busy. Despite the bad weather, we managed to get to the remote village of Chervona Sloboda to organise a screening of the film The Bright Path and a meeting with director Iryna Riabenka.

We admit it was no mean task because there was no communication in the village due to an emergency power outage.

The local "Point of Invincibility" came to the rescue. Thanks to it, the audience of the 19th Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast could watch Ukrainian documentary films and talk to the director. It was a real miracle for us, because ten minutes after the end of the meeting, the Internet was also disconnected in the "Point of Invincibility".

A still from the film The Bright Path directed by Iryna Riabenka

On the same day, in the evening, the online screening of the film House Made of Splinters directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont was held, followed by a meeting with producer Azad Safarov and the film's protagonist, Marharyta Burlutska. And again, a miracle happened: electricity was turned on 20 minutes before the start of the event.

The discussion of the film was lively, there were many questions for Azad and Marharyta. The friendly and relaxed conversation lasted more than an hour. None of the viewers remained indifferent to what they saw because the problems highlighted in the film were very relevant and painful.

A still from the film A House Made of Splinters directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont

The 19th Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast continues, there are five more eventful days ahead. And every day, we are convinced of the relevance of this year's theme – "State of Emergency".

It is so symbolic because today, we are learning to live and fight the adversities of the state of emergency.

Author: Olena Mirkhaidarova, coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in Kirovohrad Oblast