Cultural Genocide: Selected Films from the Documentary Series Vidbuduyemo (We Will Rebuild)

Russia’s war on Ukraine has a horrific goal – the destruction of Ukrainians as a nation on all fronts, including Ukrainian identity, history, and culture. According to UNESCO, thousands of heritage sites in Ukraine have already been destroyed or damaged. Architectural structures that serve the nation’s intellectual and spiritual enlightenment are being deliberately bombed: museums, libraries, schools, universities, cultural centers, churches, and theaters. We may hear about the attacks on these institutions, but we haven’t truly seen the results for ourselves until now. The documentary film series Vidbuduyemo (We Will Rebuild), directed by Kornii Hrytsjuk, tells the story of the significance of these structures and the communities impacted by their destruction. The series consists of short films, each one focusing on an one institution. They are visually powerful accounts of how this once prosperous country in the center of Europe is experiencing cultural genocide with the arrival of the “Russian liberators.” The short films are subtitled in English. Dr. Andriy Danylenko, author and professor at Pace University, will give an introductory talk before the screening.

This event is dedicated to the victims of the Holodomor of 1932– -1933, a Kremlin-created famine in which millions of innocent Ukrainians perished of hunger. The genocide is commemorated worldwide on the same weekend each year.

Organized in partnership with the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, this screening event at The Ukrainian Museum is free of charge, but please register to reserve a seat.