A Guide into Otherness

Three stories of interconnection and internegation between creativity and work in modern Ukraine.

In the spring of 2022, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was surrounded by Russian troops. They were using the weapons of mass destruction against the civilian population every day. In mid-March volunteers started evacuating people from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia. They gathered after each trip to exchange the information, support each other, and talk about their traumatic experiences.

Ajahi is the poorest district of Mariupol. An ideal place for meditations on poverty; a place where you won't see anything that is supposed to be shown; place, to share the void with a friend.

A music film about Taras Fedirko, William Nought, heart, feet, skirt, and bagels. Impro vs impro, superimpo vs superimpo, oh-my-god vs aliens' idioms, sound propagating happiness vs a soldering iron in a demagog's arse.

Far right radicalism cannot be innate, it is always a result of socio-economic frustrations. We asked our friends to try on the uniform of the National Corps and think about the far right political identity from inside.

An auto-fictional essay about a gay community that makes use of a communication network consisting of amateur radio and grassroot hook-up apps. While the air is constantly interrupted by homophobic messages made of the intercepted military ciphers used by the Russian army, networks of love, empathy, and support become ever stronger. Produced as a close observation of everyday media practices and the social life of love relations, “The Film of Sand“ takes a close look at the interrelations of war and intimacy, threat and empathy, fiction and documentation.

Mockumentary on the post-industrial future of Mariupol. The authors imagine what the city would be like with the developed culture of the Azov Greeks, the ethnic population of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The plot develops in 2068 in Mariupol, where a musician from Rotterdam arrives. They participates in an art residency organized by a local institution such as the Center for Industrial Heritage (CIS).

The film is based on Riasni Drova’s interpretation of John Jacob Niles’ Child Ballad #95.

The film consists of 14 fragments, which focus on intersections of dramatic events in the history of Ukraine in 2014-2016, and specifically in the history of the city of Mariupol, and personal experiences of the filmmaker. The beginning. Water. Music. Jokes. Monuments. Events. Buenos Aires. A tree. Talking to God. Film. A trap for nearly everyone. Walls of Joy. All I think is fire. The end.

Ihor works from home in a taxi answering service. He seems to be imprisoned in his room in a depressing apartment block opposite the pompous Orthodox cathedral. To escape the hopelessness, Ihor tries to interpret his precarious daily life as creatively as possible. Growing sunflowers on his balcony and creating rotoscoping animation on an out-of-date black&white printer become important rituals of resistance.

Life of Mariupol vandals in 29 arborglyphs (graffiti on the bark of the trees).

The second film, "Artels of Fintiktikova's Followers," 2006-2009.

A documentary musical which tells the story of war and pacifism through songs and melodies recorded in Mariupol from the end of 20th century to the beginning of 2022, when the city was erased and captured by Russia.

The first film, "Artels of Fintiktikova's Followers," 2006-2007.

The film researches problems and possibilities of building a cultural dialogue in Eastern Ukrainian cities. The film crew analyzes the multicultural history of the region, difficulties in cultural self-realization and attempts to make the dialogue more efficient. The film doesn't give the exact answers, but tries to create space for unbiased discussion about the culture of the East of Ukraine.

An abandoned house on the seacoast near Mariupol, an overcast sky and a camera shared by three friends.