Summary
The 17th Travelling Docudays UA in Vinnytsia Region Has Ended
From December 12 to 21, 2020, the 17th Travelling International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA took place in Vinnytsia Region...
From December 12 to 21, 2020, the 17th Travelling International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA took place in Vinnytsia Region. This year, the traditional December event was held online. Over the course of 10 days, residents of Vinnytsia Region watched the best documentary films and took part in roundtables, trainings and discussions.
The festival in Vinnytsia Region was organized by the civil society organizations: NGO “Pravo”, NGO “Unique Country” and NGO “Podilskyi Centre for Social Technologies”.
Online format: challenges and new opportunities
The online format became a serious challenge for both organizers and participants. Sometimes the internet connection was unstable, as not all cities, towns and villages in Vinnytsia Region had the technical capacity for comfortable film viewing. At times, viewers also found it difficult to manage the specifics of Zoom and join the discussion.
At the same time, the online format opened up new opportunities. It made it possible to invite directors who were far from Vinnytsia Region into the conversation and to make discussions more open to people from different communities across the region.
Conversations with directors and audience discussions
Director Oksana Karpovych joined viewers from Canada. Her film about Ukrainian suburban electric trains was watched in Zhmerynka and Vinnytsia. After the screening, participants recalled travel adventures, encounters, sad and funny stories, and reflected on the electric train as a metaphor for Ukrainian society.
Where is this train going? Do those sitting in the carriages imagine what awaits them at the final station? Or did they simply take a free seat and travel wherever they are being taken?
During online conversations with director Oksana Karpovych and director Oleksiy Radynski, viewers learned how a documentary film is created — from idea to editing. In this case, the online format helped break down barriers, because in Zoom everyone was in equal conditions and had the opportunity to ask questions or share their opinion.
Films as a reason to talk about what matters
For many families, the online screenings during the 17th Travelling Docudays UA became a family event. Adults and children watched films from one screen, and sometimes pets were nearby as well. During the discussions, viewers recalled family stories, life situations and personal experiences.
It turned out that the topics raised in the films are not distant from Ukrainian society. On the contrary, they touch on issues that are important to discuss openly: human dignity, age, the right to assistance, accessibility of services, quality of life, loneliness, choice and responsibility.
The discussion of the film “A Good Death”, dedicated to the topic of euthanasia, was especially moving. Civic activist from Bar Oksana Bas shared her own story. Her foreign friend, after learning about an incurable diagnosis, decided to use the euthanasia procedure. In Belgium, where this woman lived, such a procedure is permitted by law. Before her death, she sent farewell postcards to acquaintances, one of which Oksana Bas received.
This story, together with the film screening, became the basis for a deep conversation about the Ukrainian healthcare system, living conditions for older people and manifestations of ageism in society.
Human rights education programme
This year’s human rights education programme included trainings on human rights and information security for young people, roundtables on the problems and opportunities of legal assistance and online education, as well as training for civic activists on how to influence decisions made by authorities.
In this way, the festival became not only a cultural event, but also a space for civic education, dialogue and reflection on human rights through documentary cinema.
About Docudays UA
Docudays UA is the only international human rights documentary film festival in Ukraine. It is a member of the Human Rights Film Network and takes place annually in Kyiv during the last week of March.
After the Kyiv part of Docudays UA ends, the best films are traditionally presented in the regions of Ukraine during the Travelling Festival. This brings human rights documentary cinema closer to communities and creates space for important conversations in different cities, towns and villages across the country.
The Travelling International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA is held with the support of the Embassy of Sweden and the Goethe-Institut.