Ukrainian culture sector urges EU delegation to cancel film festival in Russia.

Ukraine's cultural sector has reacted with dismay that the delegation of the European Union to Russia has organized a festival of European film this year, after canceling last year's edition due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.   The festival is set to be held online between Nov.

1 and Nov.

15 under the slogan of "Cinema Unites," according to the website. The program features over 20 films ranging from 2016 to 2022 from across the continent, as well as a few co-productions between Russia and EU countries.

"It is important to continue an effective sanctions policy not only in the economic sphere, but also in culture, in particular in cinema," Ukraine's Culture Ministry said in a statement on Oct.

28. "The resumption of cultural dialogue" after 612 days of war, which has destroyed over 1,700 cultural sites in Ukraine, "is unacceptable." Ukraine's State Film Agency also pointed to the ongoing destruction of Ukrainian cultural sites.

"It is unfair to say that art is outside of politics, while Russian missiles destroy Ukrainian theaters, cinemas, and museums," Ukraine's State Film Agency said in its statement on Oct.

28.

Literature community commemorates Ukrainian writer killed by Russian attack A little over three months after a Russian missile strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed writer Victoria Amelina, her colleagues and readers gathered at the 30th annual Lviv BookForum festival to honor her memory. British journalist Christina Lamb moderated the event titled "Wom...

A full cultural boycott is an "important step in the direction of victory," the agency said.

The Ukrainian Institute similarly reacted that "the entire European community should be united and consistent." On the festival's website, the EU's Ambassador to Russia Roland Galharague was quoted saying that "Russian culture is part of the European cultural heritage." "In these difficult times, when we are separated by circumstances and physical boundaries, cinema continues to overcome any obstacles," Galharague said.

"Russian history and art have long fascinated and inspired the world," and Russian cinema has touched "the hearts and minds of people from all over the world," according to Galharague.

These Ukrainian artists, writers were killed by Russia's war "My worst fear is coming true: I'm inside a new Executed Renaissance. As in the 1930s, Ukrainian artists are killed, their manuscripts disappear, and their memory is erased," Ukrainian writer Viktoriia Amelina penned in the foreword to the published diary of another author, Volodymyr Vakulenko, murd...

News Editor

Elsa Court is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

She was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post and has a Master's in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University.

Before joining the Kyiv Independent, she worked at the Netherlands Red Cross programme to arrange hosts for Ukrainian refugees and as a freelance writer and editor.

Elsa is originally from the UK and is based in the Netherlands.