Ukrainian film events #2 x Ventilator Cinema

Ventilator Cinema and shidniiture collective present the second event in the Ukrainian Film Events series. This edition focuses on the documentary project “Thickets” (Хащі) — an ongoing cinematic exploration of abandoned Ukrainian villages, forgotten cultural sites and the fragile remains of rural life erased by colonial pressure, migration, and decades of imposed neglect.

Thickets traces rural Ukrainian landscapes where memory, identity and disappearance coexist.
This edition features the documentary Donbas | Whose Land Is This? Its Myths, History, Present, and Future. — a deep dive into the layered myths, brutal history, and present-day realities of the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine. The film challenges simplified narratives and unpacks decades of colonial exploitation, industrial extraction, propaganda and resilience under pressure.

The screening is followed by a live conversation with the project’s author Volodymyr Kohan, an open discussion on abandonment, cultural memory, heritage and a small photo exhibition documenting these vanishing places.
The evening ends with drinks, bites and a small charity merch auction supporting the continuation of the project.

Schedule:

Doors Open: 16:00
Opening presentation : 16:45 - 17:00
Screening: 17:00 - 18:10
QA with Volodymyr Kohan: 18:10 - 18:30
Drinks and foods at bar: 18:30
Exhibition Corner w/ presentors talk: 18:40 -19:30
Presentors: Ivan and Maksym Frolov

Thickets: Donbas | Whose Land Is This? Myths, History, Present, and Future by Shidniiture