Her Memory His History: Decolonial Perspectives

Під знаком якоря (Under the Sign of the Anchor)
Taras Spivak, Ukraine, 2024, 28 min. Ukrainian Russian, with English subtitles

Моя бабуся парашутистка (My Grandmother Is a Skydiver)
Polina Piddubna, Germany, Ukraine, 2025, 13  min. Ukrainian, Bashkir, Tajik, Russian, Tatar, with English subtitles

Followed by a talk with Polina Piddubna, Taras Spivak, Susanne Frank, Tereza Hendl, moderated by Daria Buteiko

Two films look at who gets to shape the story of a place. Under the Sign of the Anchor turns to archival material and the traces left by institutions, while My Grandmother Is a Skydiverrecreates history through animation, family stories and memories passed between generations. Set side by side, they shift the view from official histories and male-dominated public narratives toward women's experiences, intimate relationships and forms of knowledge that rarely make it into the record. The conversation that follows will explore how colonial ways of seeing continue to shape Ukrainian history, how gender affects what becomes visible, and how film can make room for other ways of remembering.

Followed by a conversation with:

Susanne Frank is a researcher and Professor of Eastern Slavic Literatures and Cultures, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Tereza Hendl is a researcher, philosopher and bioethicist and a board member of the RUTA Association.

Polina Piddubna is a Ukrainian filmmaker and animator. My Grandmother Is a Skydiver premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Taras Spivak is a Ukrainian director and editor. Under the Sign of the Anchor won Best Short Documentary at Docudays UA.

Daria Buteiko is a co-founder of the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin.