Interview with Mariana Zaklinska, Film Commissioner for the Ivano-Frankivsk Film Commission

There has been significant destruction of Ukraine's national heritage sites and cultural institutions since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Kateryna Goncharova has been involved with the preservation of architectural heritage and historical sites in Ukraine, including research, management, and scientific support of projects. She is currently Country Director for Ukraine with the World Monuments Fund. Ms. Goncharova discusses damage done to national heritage sites and cultural institutions during the war and efforts to restore them. https://www.wmf.org/kateryna-goncharova-phd https://www.wmf.org/

12 Joulu 202416min

Journalist Svitlana Oslavska and her photographer sister Anna Ilchenko started the Old Khata Project in 2020 intending to create a photobook about rural houses in Ukraine. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine slowed down the project, but the duo finally published their book in 2023. They were born in the city of Sieverodonetsk which is currently occupied by Russia. Ms. Oslavska and Ms. Ilchenko talk about why this project is so important for better understanding rural architecture and folk art in Ukraine as well as the people they interviewed in their travels from the regions of Zakarpattia to Luhansk and from Chernihiv to Kherson. Their book artfully reveals traces of traditional culture in modern everyday life. https://www.oldkhataproject.com/en/

27 Marras 202415min

Miriam Guttman is an award-winning Dutch filmmaker and photographer. She directed the new documentary "Front Row". The American actress and television producer Sarah Jessica Parker is the executive producer. The film tells the story of the United Ukrainian Ballet Company founded in the Hague in the Netherlands with a group of 60 Ukrainian war refugees in 2022 by the famous Dutch ballerina Igone de Jongh. An essential part of the film is the brotherly relationship that develops between ballet dancer Oleksiy Tiutiunnyk and 26-year-old Ukrainian wounded veteran Oleksandr Budko. Oleksandr meets the ballet company at a performance in Washington, D.C., and aspires to perform with them even though he is a double amputee. He eventually does in Los Angeles in July 2023. This inspiring documentary makes its world premiere in New York City on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 6:15PM at the Village East theater by Angelika. https://www.miriamguttmann.com/ https://marinaharss.substack.com/p/the-battlefield-within https://svidomi.in.ua/en/page/i-am-an-example-of-the-consequences-of-war-the-story-of-veteran-oleksandr-teren-budko

9 Marras 202410min

Peter Solowka and Len Liggins founded The Ukrainians British Punk Rock band in England in 1990. Since then they have entertained audiences throughout Great Britain, Western and Eastern Europe with traditional Ukrainian folk songs, covers of classic British and American rock songs and their own compositions. The duo recently published a new book about the band, "The Ukrainians: From Kyiv to the Kosmos". This interview includes their discussion on the history of the band and also offers their thoughts about the new book. https://www.the-ukrainians.com/

3 Marras 202417min

Ukrainian American Yuri Yanchyshyn has been a period furniture and wooden artifacts conservator for more than 30 years. He has worked for many important cultural institutions worldwide including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2016 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for conservation work in Ukraine. One of Mr. Yanchyshyn's major projects has been the preservation of wooden churches ("tserkvas"). In this effort he has collaborated with Mykola Bevz, the chair of the Department of Restoration and Reconstruction of Architectural Complexes at Lviv Polytechnic National University, Department of Architecture and Conservation. He discusses his work and career in this interview. https://www.periodfurnitureconservation.com/ https://www.redarchresearch.org/projects/ukraine-aid-project/

31 Loka 202418min

Ukraine faces significant electrical shortages this winter due to the constant attacks by Russia on its power grid. Oleksandr Kharchenko, an energy industry expert and managing director of the Energy Industry Research Center in Kyiv, Ukraine, discusses what has happened to Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the Russian invasion and ongoing efforts to repair it. Mr. Kharchenko also talks about what should be done long-term to redevelop and revitalize Ukraine's energy ecosystem to make it self-sufficient and sustainable. https://www.linkedin.com/in/okharchenko/ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/ukraines-winter-energy-crisis-facing-threat-missiles-and-default

8 Loka 202419min

Fedir Serdiuk is a young Ukrainian entrepreneur who is active in the field of emergency medical care in Ukraine. In 2016, he and Igor Korpusov founded a first aid training organization FAST (First Aid and SpecialTraining). FAST has more than 200 local and international companies among its clients. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Mr. Serdiuk, Mr. Korpusov and a colleague Leonid Kopus established the non-profit PULSE to support the development of emergency and combat medicine in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Fedir Serdiuk talks about these activities and the impact of the Russian invasion on emergency medical care in Ukraine. https://actfast.pro/en/my.html https://www.pulse.charity/en

3 Loka 202417min

Andrew Wilson is a British author, Professor in Ukrainian Studies at University College London and a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. In this interview, he talks about politics in Ukraine during the period of the Russian invasion. He also explores what impact IDP's and returning war refugees might have on the country's direction. Here is a list of his publications. https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/7084-andrew-wilson/publications. And, this is his ECFR profile. https://ecfr.eu/profile/andrew_wilson/

19 Syys 202419min