The initiative aimed to create a space for dialogue about Ukrainian identity, culture, resilience, and the strength of communities, featuring real-life stories of people who create and nurture Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

As part of the project, moderators of Docudays UA film clubs across various regions of Ukraine and abroad organized 59 events that brought together 1,034 participants, including school and university students, veterans, civic activists, educators, librarians, probation clients, and others.

For these special screenings, the Network team selected four documentary films produced by Suspilne:

• Horytsvit: Blooming Against All Odds –  the story of Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit, a Ukrainian artist who, despite imprisonment and misunderstanding from her community, created hundreds of icons, thousands of paintings, photographs, and books, leaving a remarkable cultural legacy.

• The Sound of ‘Gerdan’ – a film about the Chernivtsi Theatre of Authentic Music, which preserves Ukrainian traditions and passes them on to new generations – a crucial mission in times of war.

• Augustdorf — a documentary about a German settlement in the Carpathian region that ceased to exist in October 1939. Its history reflects complex events of the 20th century, including deportations and war.

• Slastion’s Schools – a film dedicated to the unique architectural heritage of Ukrainian Art Nouveau in the Poltava region and the activists striving to preserve them.

Photo from the DOCU/CLUB Network archive 

Each screening was followed by heartfelt dialogues about shared values, cultural heritage, and the responsibility of its preservation for future generations. These discussions inspired audiences no less than the films themselves.

Nina Khoma, Head of the DOCU/CLUB Network, noted:  “Our film clubs usually showcase documentaries about human rights, social change, and stories of dignity and freedom in Ukraine and abroad. Due to our collaboration with Suspilne, we were able to tell even more stories about Ukraine and Ukrainians through our culture, history, and people from various regions. These films help not only learn about our country but also feel it more deeply, through voices, landscapes, and stories of everyday life that shape our shared memory and heritage.” 

Photo from the DOCU/CLUB Network archive 

“It is important for our team that films produced by regional branches of Suspilne become starting points for discussions and dialogue with the viewers. Collaboration with the DOCU/CLUB Network film clubs provides an opportunity to share stories from different regions, receive feedback, and witness how cinema brings people together through shared emotions and reflections,” emphasized Kateryna Zhulina, Executive Producer of the News Production Department at Suspilne (Regional Division).

Feedback from participants of the screenings confirms her words.

“The film Slastion’s Schools is a reminder that the right to education and cultural heritage is an essential component of human rights. By losing these schools, we lose part of our own history and the right to be ourselves. It is wonderful that the film club organizes such screenings — they are valuable both for professional development and for personal worldview,” said student Hanna K. after the discussion of the film at the Docudays UA film club of the T. Shevchenko Central City Library in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region.

The film Augustdorf inspired viewers at a DOCU/CLUB screening in Belgium to engage in a discussion about protection of national identity. “Augustdorf moved me to tears. The film made me reflect on how quickly we can lose an entire community due to political decisions. It resonates deeply with what we are experiencing today,” noted one of the participants.

Many viewers took their children with them to the screening of The Sound of ‘Gerdan’ at the Docudays UA film club in Kryvyi Rih. One of the viewers concluded, “The film conveys a sense of pride and dignity in the best sense of the word. It promotes our culture, so that it can not only be loved but also understood by different generations.” 

Photo from the DOCU/CLUB Network archive 

The documentary Horytsvit: Blooming Against All Odds became a revelation for many viewers. Olha from Kyiv, who attended the screening at the Docudays UA film club at the Pavlo Tychyna Library, said:  “To be honest, I’d never heard of Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit before. Thank you for choosing this film. Now I want to visit the place where such an incredibly strong and multifaceted woman lived and created her art.”

“Unfortunately, here in eastern Ukraine, we do not always know about figures like Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit. But thanks to this film and this screening, we discovered an extraordinarily interesting artist, poet, and photographer. We hope Suspilne will produce more such films — and we will gladly continue showing them to young audiences,” added Tetyana Volkova, moderator of the “Poza prokatom” film club in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region. 

This special project by Suspilne and the DOCU/CLUB Network proves that documentary films effectively unite audiences into communities of trust, where meaningful discussions about our shared social experiences emerge.

“The DOCU/CLUB Network’s film clubs are spaces where film screenings naturally lead to dialogues between viewers. Our collaboration with Suspilne is a powerful example of how joint efforts between different institutions can offer audiences a new quality of cultural experience,” concluded Nina Khoma. 

The development of the DOCU/CLUB Network is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and Fondation de France.

The opinions, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the authors and compilers of this publication and do not necessarily reflect the views of the governments or charitable organizations of these countries. The authors and compilers are solely responsible for the content of this publication.