KIU Summer School: Film Screening “Reimagining Ukrainian Identity”

The short film programme brings together five short films from Ukraine that explore questions of Ukrainian identity while also highlighting the diversity of national and ethnographic communities in Ukraine. The programme challenges the long-standing perception of Ukraine as a culturally and ethnically homogeneous country shaped exclusively by Slavic traditions.

The films tell stories of, among others, the North Azovian Greeks of Mariupol, the Crimean Tatars, and younger generations of Ukrainians living in Germany.

Filmmaker Daria Pyshna (Deep Plate) will be present in person for the screening and available for questions, while Sashko Protyah (Khayt) will join the discussion online.

The following short films will be screened:

“Deep Plate” | Daria Pyshna | Documentary | 15 min | 2025

In war-torn Kyiv, four Ukrainians who do not fit the conventional image of a Slavic identity reflect on belonging, culture, and home. Drawing on audio interviews and accompanying imagery, the film weaves their voices into a fragmented portrait of identity shaped by language, memory, and place.

“Critical Condition” | Mila Zhluktenko | Fiction | 24 min | 2024

Inspired by the events surrounding the life and assassination of Ukrainian writer and politician Lev Rebet, who was murdered by the KGB in exile in Munich in 1957, Critical Condition portrays the experiences of the Ukrainian diaspora, both past and present.

“Khayt” | Sashko Protyah | Experimental | 9 min | 2021

This experimental film imagines the post-industrial future of Mariupol in 2068. A musician from Rotterdam takes part in an artist residency organised by the Centre for Industrial Heritage and discovers a city where the culture of the North Azovian Greeks, as well as Rumeika and Urum traditions, shape its cultural life. What would electronic music sound like if these cultures determined the musical future of Mariupol?

“Without You / Sensiz” | Nariman Aliiev | Fiction | 15 min | 2016

This short-film debut by Crimean Tatar director Nariman Aliiev follows two young men on their way to their older brother’s birthday. A breakdown delays them, and the sun will soon set. In this remote, godforsaken area, there is no help to be expected. Eventually, they set off on foot on the long journey to be with their brother.

“Thus They Will Sing?” | Anna Yutschenko & Diana Horban | Documentary | 15 min | 2020

A film collage about the Carpathian region of Ukraine and the Soromitski songs (songs of mockery). These traditional songs (spivankas) contain erotic themes and were traditionally sung at weddings, vechornytsi (evening gatherings), and celebrations. Although singing these songs in everyday life was considered shameful, they also conveyed ideas about the behaviour and roles of men and women.