The story of teenage Nastya from Kyiv, featured in the film Girl Away From Home (2023) by Oscar nominee Simon Lereng Wilmont and Ukrainian director Alisa Kovalenko, resonates deeply with many Ukrainians.

 
This film opened the public screenings programme of the Travelling Docudays UA in Chernivtsi, held at the Mykhaylo Ivasyuk Chernivtsi Regional Universal Scientific Library.

 
The screening and discussion of the film took place with participation of guest expert Roksolana Zharkova - author, literature studies scholar, and researcher of women’s writing. During the discussion, Roksolana Zharkova shared her experiences of interacting with women forced to leave their homeland due to Russia's full-scale invasion.

Together with the expert, the audience reflected on the fragility of existence, shared their own painful memories, and spoke about the inexplicable love for their homeland that compels them to return home, despite having built a new, more stable life elsewhere.

The screening and discussion of Girl Away From Home were followed by the presentation of Roksolana Zharkova’s new book Scissors, Paper in the format of public readings.

The discussion of the film turned into a heartfelt conversation with the author about the process of the book creation, the experiences of Ukrainian refugee women forced to leave their homes due to the full-scale invasion, and the way these women inspired the composite image of one of the main characters in Scissors, Paper.

The book intertwines the fates of modern women fleeing war in Ukraine with that of a Jewish woman who also fled the horrific hostilities of World War II.

The presentation was a mix of emotions: laughter, tears, hugs, tenderness, reflection, and even a touch of magic. Everyone had a chance to name a page number and receive answers to their personal questions through excerpts from the text.

Title photo: a still from the film Girl Away From Home. 

The 21st Travelling Docudays UA is supported by the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, and International Media Support. The opinions, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily reflect the views of respective governments or charitable organizations of these countries. The author(s) of this publication are solely responsible for its content.