At the HUB of NGO Unique Country in Zhmerynka, two-day screenings of the 22nd Travelling Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival took place. A space that usually serves as a venue for educational events and community meetings transformed into a cosy cinema hall, a place where important conversations are born and where documentary cinema gains the power of personal experience.

The first festival day began with a screening of Sanatorium by the Irish director Gar O’Rourke. The film transports viewers to the legendary Kuyalnyk sanatorium in Odesa, where the everyday life of a medical facility remarkably coexists with the troubling context of the full-scale war.

After the screening, viewers shared that the film seemed to return them to their own childhood memories of sanatoriums, while at the same time sharply reminding them that the war is close and every “normality” is fragile.

Photo: the first day of the festival in Zhmerynka

On responsibility brought on by the proximity of war

Daria Penkova’s film Where’s My Body Armor? became a candid conversation about growing up in wartime conditions. Viewers noted the depth of the characters’ inner drama and the relevance of the issue of trust and care in military everyday life.

Tender and painful dialogue with memory

The film My Sweet Child by the Dutch director Maarten De Schutter made the audience fall silent. His journey into the memory of his mother became a reason for a broader conversation about loss, love, and the search for inner support in times of uncertainty.

A story that keeps our attention

The documentary testimony of the tragedy in Olenivka from the Ukraine War Archive, Witnesses. Captivity Kills, became one of the heaviest screenings of the programme. Many in the audience listened, holding their breath. The discussion after the film turned into a space of empathy, shared pain, and the need to be together.

Photo: Viewings despite everything during the Traveling Docudays UA

Online safety

Patricia Franquesa’s film My Sextortion Diary became a powerful start to the second day. Viewers actively discussed the dangers young people face in the digital space, shared their own observations, and emphasized the importance of education about online threats.

Music as freedom

The story of the Afghan girls’ orchestra in the film Last Song from Kabul moved many and became a reminder that the right to a future is universal and inseparable from the right to be free.

A film about Ukrainian teenagers today

Antonio Lukich’s film How I Spent My Summer Holidays? touched the audience with its sincerity. Viewers said that this story helps to remember once again that children are entitled to joy, dreams, and regular teenage experiences — even in a country where the war continues every day.

Inside, the Valley Sings and A Land of Paper

Both films became a reason to talk about human dignity, the power of community, and the importance of legal mechanisms for protecting the most vulnerable.

Cinema as a meeting place and a space of mutual support

At the Unique Country HUB, people of different ages, experiences, and professions sat side by side. They watched films, discussed them, hugged, shared their pain and hope. Some came for the first time, for others it was already a tradition. But everyone spoke about the sense of togetherness that was born in this small space.

Author: Andrii Silchenko

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.