Debate: Ukrainian animation: Searching for cultural independence

Friday, 30. 9. 2022 at 16.00 / Vetrinj mansion, big hall

A full-scale invasion of Ukraine which the Russian Federation began on February 24th 2022, exposed various, complex and frequently suppressed conversations, among them a discussion of Russian cultural imperialism and the rights of the post-Soviet-dependent societies to (1) reclaim their cultural heritage, and (2) stimulate collective imagination and refer to collective memory (in other words, to create and to be understood) in terms of their own cultures. Seemingly of secondary importance, these debates – so far acknowledged only in hermetic circles of Eastern European culture scholars – appear to be a crucial device in overcoming the lack of understanding of the cultural discrepancies between Ukrainians and Russians. From a safe (and privileged) geographical distance, this cultural dispute may look blurry. Thus, we invite the audience to follow a first-hand account of how cultural sovereignty is understood by the artists and creative workers in Ukraine, and how the Ukrainian culture sector keeps searching for its autonomy. Our invited speaker, Olena Golubeva, is the executive director of the Ukrainian Animation Association, a producer of several successful animated films and TV series (among them Anna Dudko’s Deep Water), and a director of Kyiv-based production Studio Chervoniy Sobaka (The Red Dog).

The discussion with Olena Golubeva will touch upon the concerns of historical and current distinctive features, motifs, and iconography of Ukraine’s sovereign culture as well as characteristics of the narrations and representational strategies imposed throughout the long-lasting period of political and cultural submission to Russia. Animated films made in Ukraine from the 1920s up until today will exemplify, illustrate, and sometimes question the discussed problems.

The discussion will be moderated by Olga Bobrowska.