Last Friday marked the first collaboration between Razom Cinema, Sunny Bunny LGBTQIA+ film festival, and the Ukrainian Museum in New York City. A diverse crowd of all ages visited the museum for a special inaugural screening of the Ukrainian Queer Shorts film program.
The event showcased six Ukrainian short films, each portraying the unique experiences of queer communities in Ukraine. From a short documentary on the non-binary experience of a Crimean-Tatar serving in the Ukrainian army to an intimate portrayal of young lesbian love in Kyiv, the program aimed to provide a snapshot of queerness in times of war. Among the featured directors were Kateryna Khramtsova, Yelyzaveta Sherstnyova, Olia Koval, Anzhelika Ustymenko, Zoya Laktionova, Anton Shebetko, and Olena Siyatovska.
The Razom Cinema Impact Producer, Polina Buchak, and the Development Coordinator at The Ukrainian Museum, Maryna Prykhodko, introduced the event, highlighting the need for the representation of Ukrainian queerness in the arts. They also emphasized the program’s connection with the ongoing Peter Hujar: Rialto exhibition at the Museum.
In addition to the screening, the audience experienced a pre-recorded moderated conversation between Bohdan Zhuk, Director of Sunny Bunny, and Nick McCarthy, Director of Programming at NYC-based NewFest. Zhuk and McCarthy discussed the artistry of the chosen films and contextualized them in Ukrainian queer past and future, sharing their experiences leading LGBTQIA+ festivals in Kyiv and NYC. Zhuk also recommended three, must-watch Ukrainian films with LGBTQIA+ themes and underscored the need for advancing Ukrainian Queer studies research. The conversation is available on our YouTube platform – we highly recommend you check it out!
Thank you to the filmmakers featured in the program, to our volunteers who made the event possible, and everyone who came to support this initiative.
We are excited to have had the opportunity to work with The Ukrainian Museum and look forward to future events together.
Photos by Polly Chesnokova.
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