Visible in the Dark! Queer short films from Ukraine
How do you live queer love in a state of emergency? Ukraine is not just a country that is fighting for its survival. Ukraine is also home to people who have been fighting for acceptance, equal rights and visibility for decades. An evening of short films about queer life in Ukraine. Our contribution to IDAHOBIT 2025. Sunday, 18 May, 7.30 pm at Sub.
Lesbians, gays, bi, trans*, inter* and queers have never had it easy in Ukraine. Although homosexuality has no longer been a criminal offence since the country gained independence in 1991, the population’s hostile attitude has remained.
This only changed with the start of the Pride movement in 2012, which Munich helped to support as Kyiv’s twin city: the new visibility brought acceptance, and the rapprochement with the EU also helped to push some legal progress. The problem to this day is the few, but loud right-wing extremists who see their existence threatened in an increasingly liberalised society. Queer people are their core ennemies.
A vulnerable group
As a minority, LGBTIQ* are still in particular need of protection due to experiences of discrimination in a society that is still relatively homophobic and trans-hostile – this is especially true for a country at war. Discrimination and violence are part of everyday life.
It is these people that we want to make visible as part of our short film night on the occasion of IDAHOBIT on Sunday, 18 May, 7.30 pm at Sub.
Christina Parficheva, the curator of the evening and member of Munich Kyiv Queer, presents a selection of queer short films made between 2017 and 2024. These are documentary films and fiction formats that have been shown at various festivals such as Sunny Bunny in Kyiv, the Queer Film Festival Munich and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Sometimes raw and poetic, always honest and empathetic, they tell of longing, fear, resistance and hope.
Film talk with the directors afterwards
We show all the films in original voice with German or English subtitles. Afterwards, guests are invited to a discussion with the filmmakers. Veronika Havrykova & Team (“Lost”), Olena Siyatovska (“I am Michelle”) and Bohdan Kolesnyk (“Apokalypse Yesterday”) will be there. They all live abroad: Veronika & Team in Munich, Olena is travelling from Lisbon, Bohdan from Warsaw. We speak German and English. And these are our films:
PROGRAMME
LOST Germany/Ukraine, 2024; German subtitles. Director: Veronika Havrykova. 17 min
After a painful breakup with her ex-girlfriend, a young woman runs away from her memories by moving from Ukraine to Germany. As she gets into a taxi, her story gradually unfolds: her belief that love can overcome all is shattered when the woman she loved chooses fear of judgment over true feelings. A conversation with the taxi driver unexpectedly touches not only her wounds but also the driver’s doubts about his son’s orientation. By the end of the journey, each of them discovers something important — but will they have the strength to change?
I AM MICHELLE Ukraine, Netherlands 2023, English subtitles. Director: Olena Siyatovska. 20 min
A young transgender girl dreams of becoming a model, and through popularity in social media resists the loneliness that takes her over. During the trip to her birthplace, she understands what is her true desire.
APOKALYPSE YESTERDAY Ukraine, 2023, Engl. subtitles. Director: Bohdan Kolesnyk. 18 min
In a few hours, the Earth will burn in hellfire. Only the lucky ones who have a spaceship tickets to another galaxy will survive. Among them are Bodia and Max but at the last moment Max steals tickets for himself and his new boyfriend Vasia. Bodia is preparing to die from the hot sun, but his friend Sasha has other plans for the last day before the apocalypse – to kick Max’s ass.
BEFORE CURFEW Ukraine, 2023. Director: Angelika Ustymenko. 20 min
Two queer people meet on a train and spontaneously decide to get out in Kyiv and spend the day together. They hear explosions while talking about intimacy and tenderness. They share thoughts about living in this cruel reality. They share their pain. Their youth was stolen from them. Can they still feel something other than pain?
QUEER FIGHTERS OF UKRAINE Ukraine, 2023. Dir.: Alex King, Angelika Ustymenko. 20 min
The documentary provides an intimate insight into Russia’s war against Ukraine from the perspective of the Ukrainian community, who are simultaneously fighting against the Russian invasion and for equality in their own country. On the first anniversary of the large-scale invasion, Ustymenko, in collaboration with Huck Docs, resumed an earlier documentary film project to collect the reflections of queer soldiers after a year of war and explore the diverse forms of queer resistance.
SIMEIZ Ukraine, 2022. English subtitles. Director: Anton Shebetko. 18 min
Simeiz is a small village on the southern coast of Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia. In the Soviet era, an underground gay resort arose in the village. It started with a small nudist beach; a popular bar and a night club, Hedgehogs, appeared later in independent Ukraine.
CHACHO Ukraine, 2020. German subtitles. Director: Vitalii Havura. 20 min
Yanush comes from the Roma community. He grew up in a small Ukrainian town and is due to get married soon. Just like his parents want him to. But Yanush is gay and in love with Pasha. Together they decide to secretly run away from the wedding and leave the town. But will Yanush really go through with it?
AFTERTASTE Ukraine, 2017. German subtitles. Director: Yurіy Katinsykiy. 20 min
The guy comes back to the small city, where he meets his old friends. They have a good time together. In the end of the day they decided to continue their “meeting”. They get into a car with a stranger, whose motives are unknown. Such a spontaneous action turns out to be a chance to become closer to each other and find yourself.
Short film evening Visible in the Dark! Queer short films from Ukraine
When Sunday, 18 May 2025, 7.30 p.m.
Where Gay-Queer Centre Sub, Müllerstraße 14, 80469 Munich
Entrance free
Organized by Munich Kyiv Queer, Munich Pride, Sub, Cultural Department of the City of Munich
This is how you can donate
INDIVIDUAL HELP Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via https://www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support queer people in Ukraine who are in need or on the run. Why? Because not all LGBTIQ* are organised in the local LGBTIQ*-groups. This help is direct, fast and free of charge if you choose the option “For friends and family” on PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can alternatively send money to the private account of Conrad Breyer, speaker of Munich Kyiv Queer, IBAN: DE427015000021121454.
All requests from the community are meticulously checked in cooperation with our partner organisations in Ukraine. If they can help themselves, they take over. If the demands for help exceed their (financial and/or material) possibilities, we will step in.
HELP FOR LGBTIQ* ORGANISATIONS To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the Alliance Queer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here
VULNERABLE GROUP And here you can find out why queer people in war need our support.
Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/help
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