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Queer Shorts from Ukraine: What Will You Do When the War Continues? (15*)

Visions of Ukraine

two women kissing

Exploring queer culture in Ukraine through an array of shorts from across the region.

This short film programme, presented in collaboration with Sunny Bunny LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, explores Ukrainian queer culture and identities, and the multi-layered challenges the community is facing as a direct result of the Russian invasion.

Ticket prices

Standard
£13 *
* Excludes £1.50 booking fee

Booking fees

£1.50 booking fee per online/phone transaction.

No fee when tickets are booked in person.

Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. Members do not pay booking fees.

Programme

Simeiz

Ukraine 2022 dir Anton Shebetko 18 min

In the Soviet era, an underground gay resort arose in the Crimean village of Simeiz. It started with a small nudist beach and expanded further in the 1990s when a popular bar and night club called Hedgehogs also appeared. Soon, Simeiz became a significant meeting point for members of the LGBTQ+ community from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia until Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. 

Narrated by Zhanna Simeiz, an activist, drag queen, and creator of Hedgehogs, this documentary tells the story of a unique place threatened with disappearance.

 

Before Curfew

Ukraine 2023 dir Angelika Ustymenko 23 min

Two queer people meet on the train and, reimagining Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise, spontaneously decide to get out in Kyiv and spend the day together.

It is romance framed by war, in which intimate conversations and moments of tenderness are interrupted by the sounds of explosions – contrasts too familiar to many Ukrainians today

What Will You Do When the War Continues?

Ukraine 2025 dir Vladyslav Plisetskiy 38 min

Using his own biography, performances, and recordings of phone calls with his father, Vladyslav Plisetskiy explores the deep connection between the personal and the political, as the director’s own search for identity becomes intertwined with the context of war, and the army’s denial of queer soldiers’ existence.

Cinema 2

Location
Barbican Cinema 2 & 3 are located on Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance. From Silk Street, you’ll see a zebra crossing that will take you across the road to the venue. 

Address
Beech Street
London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.