Kherson holds a special place in the Travelling Festival programme and, more broadly, in the hearts of our team. It is difficult to imagine the Travelling Festival without this city, as two organisations founded in Kherson are among the Festival organisers: the Charity and Health Fund and the Docudays NGO.

Despite all the challenges of the war and the proximity of the front line, our regional partners, the Charity and Health Fund and the Legal Space Information Resource Centre, find ways every year to show documentaries to audiences in the Kherson region and talk about human rights. This autumn, they have prepared more than 30 events at several venues in Kherson in a hybrid format, in person and online, as well as screenings and discussions in Velyka Oleksandrivka and Vysokopillia. People of Kherson, we sincerely look forward to seeing you!

We are announcing the main public events in the Kherson programme of the Travelling Festival. For security reasons, we are not specifying the locations of in-person events. Detailed information and registration links are available from the regional co-ordinators of the Travelling Festival in the Kherson Region.

16 October, 11:00 a.m.
Festival opening in the Kherson region: a screening and discussion of the film The Illusion of a Quiet Night by Ukrainian director Olha Chernykh.

Experts: Natalia Bimbiraite, Alla Tiutiunnyk. Moderator: Dementii Bilyi.

Location: Kherson.

20 October, 10:30 a.m.
A screening and discussion of the film Celtic Utopia, directed by Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén (Ireland), with experts Natalia Bimbiraite and Liza Yevseieva. Moderator: Olesia Chavurska.
Location: Velyka Oleksandrivka.

20 October, 12:00 p.m.
A discussion on Decolonizing Memory following the screening of Celtic Utopia (directed by Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén, Ireland), with experts discussing the authentic history of the Kherson Region recovered by local historians and cultural managers. The event will also include a discussion of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (the Faro Convention), which has been ratified by Ukraine.

Experts: Natalia Bimbiraite and Liza Yevseieva. Moderator: Olesia Chavurska.
Location: Velyka Oleksandrivka.

22 October, 11:40 a.m.
A screening and discussion of the film Traces by Ukrainian directors Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk. A post-screening human rights discussion about crimes committed by Russian military personnel against civilians, human rights violations and ways to protect survivors.
Location: Kherson.

25 October, 12:00 p.m.
A human rights discussion marking the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the first Ukrainian law on the rehabilitation of victims of political repression on 17 April 1991.

With expert Vasyl Donets, Regional Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. Moderator: Dementii Bilyi.
Location: Kherson.

5 November
A screening and discussion of the film Homecoming by Ukrainian directors Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk.
Location: Velyka Oleksandrivka.

6 November
A human rights discussion History Unpacked on the decolonisation of memory, featuring experts Olena Afanasieva, Natalia Bimbiraite, Liza Yevseieva, Oleh Lykhovyd and Mykola Homaniuk. Moderator: Dementii Bilyi.
Location: Kherson.

10 November, 10:00 a.m.
A screening and discussion of the film Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow and the Day After Tomorrow by Ukrainian director Anastasiia Bonadyha.
Location: Velyka Oleksandrivka.

12 November
Screening and discussion of the film The Blessed Ones by Ukrainian director Andrii Lysetskyi, followed by the human rights discussion Decolonisation through Art: The Right to Define Our Own History and Culture. Moderator: Natalia Shatilova.
Location: Kherson.

Please note that the programme may be subject to change due to the security situation. 

Full details of the events can be found on the Travelling Docudays UA in Kherson and Kherson Region page or obtained directly from the regional coordinators.

Admission to all events is free with prior registration.

Contacts:

• Olena Stariuk, coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in the Kherson Region for the Charity and Health Fund, email: [email protected], tel.: +38 (095) 520-53-56.

• Natalia Bimbiraite, coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA in the Kherson Region for the Legal Space Information Resource Centre NGO, email: [email protected].

The 23rd Travelling Docudays UA is held with the financial support of the European Union, the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine and the International Renaissance Foundation. The opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union, the governments or charitable organisations of these countries. Responsibility for the content of this publication lies solely with its authors.