Inclusive screenings, meetings with directors, human rights discussions on topics that resonate with Ukrainian society, training sessions, and creative workshops — after visiting the Kirovohrad and Lviv Regions, the Travelling Docudays UA Festival is heading to the Poltava Region with a powerful programme!

Until 27 November, we’ll be visiting Hadiach, Karlivka, Horishni Plavni, and most frequently, Poltava and Kremenchuk. Find the events in your city and become part of this year’s festival: we’re publishing the open programme.

11 November, 1:00 p.m.

Kremenchuk. Press screening of the documentary Where’s My Body Armor? by Ukrainian director Daria Penkova, presentation of this year’s festival theme, and announcement of the Travelling Docudays UA programme for local media and journalists in a combined format, both offline and online.

Location: Ideas Space.

13 November, 2:00 p.m.

Poltava. Festival opening in Poltava region. An inclusive screening of the documentary My Sweet Child by director Maarten De Schutter from the Netherlands, symbolically on the International Day of the Blind. Viewers with visual impairments, as well as anyone interested, will be able to watch the film with audio description via the EarCatch app. Afterwards, a discussion with experts will take place on the importance of accessibility in ensuring human rights, equality, and respect.

Location: Inclusive InfoHub.

14 November, 7:00 p.m.

Poltava. Screening of the documentary Sanatorium by Irish director Gar O’Rourke, followed by a discussion with the film’s protagonist and a member of the creative team.

Location: Culture Art Space.

15 November, 1:00 p.m.

Hadiach. Screening and discussion of the documentary How I Spent My Summer Holidays by Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich.

Location: Hadiach Local History Museum.

16 November, 4:00 p.m.

Poltava. Screening of the documentary Where’s My Body Armor? and an online meeting with director Daria Penkova, as well as a screening of How I Spent My Summer Holidays? by director Antonio Lukich, followed by an expert discussion.

Location: Culture Art Space.

17 November

Poltava, 12:00 p.m. — Inclusive screening of the documentaries Where’s My Body Armor? by director Daria Penkova and How I Spent My Summer Holidays? by director Antonio Lukich for people with hearing impairments and hard of hearing, as well as all interested viewers — with extended subtitles and simultaneous sign language interpretation for comparison. The screening will be followed by an expert discussion. Observations during the screening and audience feedback will launch a conversation on accessibility and content adaptation, helping to better understand the needs of these audiences.

Location: Inclusive InfoHub.

5:00 p.m. — Festival opening in Kremenchuk. Screening of the documentary Sanatorium by Irish director Gar O’Rourke, followed by a discussion with a member of the film crew and the film’s protagonists.

Location: Kraplia Bookstore and Cafe.

18 November

Karlivka, 12:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Where’s My Body Armor? by director Daria Penkova, followed by the training session The Educational Potential of Documentary Cinema: Resilience and Values, particularly for the community of educators. The session will introduce tools that help develop psychological and emotional resilience in the face of today’s challenges.

Location: Karlivka Inclusive Resource Centre.

Poltava, 1:00 p.m. — Integrative inclusive meeting of creative young people for the participants of the There Is Hope! project with mental disabilities and students of the Institute of Arts at Luhansk National University. Screening and discussion of the documentary Last Song from Kabul by directors Kevin Macdonald and Ruhi Hamid.

Location: Library Branch #4 of the Poltava City Centralised Library System.

Kremenchuk, 2:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Sanatorium by Irish director Gar O’Rourke, followed by a discussion with a member of the film crew and the film’s protagonists.

Location: City Public Library.

Kremenchuk, 5:00 p.m. — Screening and discussion of the documentary Fiume o Morte! by Croatian director Igor Bezinović.

Location: Kraplia Bookstore and Cafe.

19 November

Kremenchuk, 2:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Last Song from Kabul by directors Kevin Macdonald and Ruhi Hamid, followed by a discussion on the importance of art in preserving human dignity.

Location: City Public Library, Branch #5.

Horishni Plavni, 2:30 p.m. — Screening of the documentary How I Spent My Summer Holidays? by Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich, followed by a discussion with student and teaching communities on the challenges of education during the war.

Location: Central City Library.

Poltava, 3:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary How I Spent My Summer Holidays? by director Antonio Lukich for high school and university students, followed by the training From Memories to Action: How Stories Become Change. The session will explore the experiences of teenagers from different regions of Ukraine and discuss how personal stories can become tools of participation, a way to speak about problems, ideas, and changes within the community, as well as to develop participation skills.

Location: Literature Living Room of the I. P. Kotliarevskyi Poltava Regional Universal Science Library.

Kremenchuk, 5:00 p.m. — Screening and discussion of the film My Sweet Child by director Maarten de Schutter.

Location: NGO Leader.

Kremenchuk, 6:00 p.m. — Screening and discussion of the documentaries Where’s My Body Armor? by Ukrainian director Daria Penkova and How I Spent My Summer Holidays? by Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich, followed by a discussion with experts on the topic of education during the war.

Location: Ideas Space.

20 November

Karlivka, 12:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary My Sweet Child by director Maarten de Schutter, followed by the workshop Living Through Loss and Finding Connection Again, which aims to highlight the importance of creating a safe space for those experiencing loss in order to help them accept and process their feelings, find new sources of support, and build a new stage of life.

Location: Karlivka Inclusive Resource Centre.

Poltava, 2:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Last Song from Kabul by directors Kevin Macdonald and Ruhi Hamid, followed by an expert discussion with future legal scholars and lawyers on human rights, freedom of expression, and the power of human dignity, as well as the role of art in preserving them.

Location: O. Honchar Poltava Regional Youth Library.

Kremenchuk, 6:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary My Sextortion Diary by Spanish director Patricia Franquesa, followed by an expert discussion on cybersecurity and combating sexual violence online.

Location: Ideas Space.

Poltava, 7:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Glass, My Unfulfilled Life, followed by an online meeting and discussion with director Rogier Kappers.

Location: Culture Art Space.

21 November

Kremenchuk, 3:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Last Song from Kabul by directors Kevin Macdonald and Ruhi Hamid, followed by a discussion with artists, art scholars, and art professors.
Location: City Art Gallery.

Kremenchuk, 5:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary How I Spent My Summer Holidays? by director Antonio Lukich, followed by an expert discussion; as well as the screening and discussion of the film Inside, the Valley Sings by Irish director Nathan Fagan.

Location: Kraplia Bookstore and Cafe.

Kremenchuk, 6:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary A Land of Paper by French director Marion Boé, followed by a discussion on bureaucracy and its impact on the protection of human rights.

Location: Ideas Space.

Poltava, 7:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary My Sextortion Diary by Spanish director Patricia Franquesa, followed by a discussion with experts on the topic of sexual violence online, particularly in times of war, when the vulnerability of children and young people increases. The conversation will focus on the importance of education, countering online risks, and providing legal support for survivors.

Location: Culture Art Space.

22 November

Kremenchuk, 1:00 p.m. — Workshop on creating commemorative souvenirs for the 22nd Travelling Festival The Rare Resource Is Us! for all interested festival participants.

3:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Glass, My Unfulfilled Life by Dutch director Rogier Kappers, followed by a discussion on self-discovery and personal fulfilment.

Location: Ideas Space.

Poltava, 5:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary Where’s My Body Armor?, followed by a meeting and discussion with director Daria Penkova.

Location: Khartia Hub Education Centre.

23 November, 3:00 p.m.

Kremenchuk. Screening and discussion of the documentary My Sweet Child by director Maarten de Schutter from the Netherlands.

Location: Ideas Space.

25 November, 3:00 p.m.

Online screening of the documentary Where’s My Body Armor? by director Daria Penkova for educators from the Luhansk Region, followed by a training session on Documentary Cinema as a Tool for Shaping Awareness and Social Responsibility in Children and Youth.

ZOOM event.

26 November

Poltava, 10:00 — Screening of the documentary My Sextortion Diary by director Patricia Franquesa for educators and psychologists from the Poltava Region, followed by the training (Non)Virtual Threat: The Role of Educators in Combating Sexual Violence.

2:00 p.m. — Screening of the documentary My Sweet Child by director Maarten De Schutter for educators and psychologists from the Poltava Region, followed by the training on Memory, Loss, and Support: How Educators Can Talk About Difficult Experiences.

Location: Professional Development Centre for Education Workers of the Poltava City Council.

27 November, 2:00 p.m.

Poltava. Festival closing in the Poltava Region. Screening of the documentary Where’s My Body Armor?, an online meeting with its director Daria Penkova, and a discussion on the potential of documentary cinema as a tool for education, advocacy, and public dialogue. The event will also feature the official opening of a Docudays UA film club at an educational institution training future legal professionals.

Location: Poltava Law College of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University.

We have two partners co-organising the festival in the Poltava Region: the Poltava Branch of the Public Service of Ukraine (Travelling Docudays UA / Poltava and the Region Facebook page) and the European Club Information and Educational Centre in Kremenchuk (Travelling Docudays UA in Kremenchuk). Follow these pages for all event announcements and press releases. Admission is free; however, please note that the programme may change depending on the security situation.

Contacts: 

• Olena Burim, regional coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in the Poltava region from the Poltava Branch of the Public Service of Ukraine; email: [email protected], tel.: +38 (066) 028-19-65;

• Svitlana Ovcharenko, regional coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in the Poltava region from NGO European Club Information and Educational Centre in Kremenchuk; email: [email protected], tel.: +38 (073) 074-77-34.

The 22nd Travelling Docudays UA is held with the financial support of the European Union, the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, and International Media Support. The opinions, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily correspond to the views of the European Union, the governments or charities of these countries. Responsibility for the content of the publication lies solely on its authors.