Kyiv to LA: Swamps, Steppes, and Souvenirs

Image: Oleksiy Radynski, Where Russia Ends (still), 2024.

Join us on Saturday, October 25 at 7pm for “Swamps, Steppes and Souvenirs,” a screening program presented by Kyiv to LA, exploring the vastness of Ukraine’s ecology and the powers—both real and imagined—that have shaped its landscape. The screening will feature six short films by Ukrainian artists Daryna Mamaisur, Oleksiy Radynski, Darya Tsymbalyuk, and ruїns collective (Teta Tsybulnyk and Elias Parvulesco). The films unearth deeply layered histories and personal narratives linked to Russian imperialism, western romanticization, and memories rooted in loss and discovery. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the artists.

Films
ruïns collective, Endless Sea of Sand (2023, 5 minutes)
A meditative exploration of shifting landscapes, capturing sand and soil as witnesses to human and environmental history.

ruïns collective, Salty Oscillations (2021, 6 minutes)
Experimental visuals of water and salt terrains reveal the rhythms and textures of Ukraine’s natural environment.

ruïns collective, Zong (2019, 9 minutes)
A poetic investigation of memory and displacement, blending archival footage with abstract imagery to reflect on history and loss.

Oleksiy Radynski: Where Russia Ends (2024, 25 minutes)
An examination of territorial, political, and cultural boundaries, interrogating Russian imperial influence and its impact on Ukrainian landscapes.

Daryna Mamaisur: a steppe with rabbits and pheasants running around, and where some even saw foxes. part 2 (2020, 10 minutes)
A lyrical portrayal of the Ukrainian steppe, highlighting its wildlife and rhythms of life amid human and environmental change.

This program is organized by Kyiv to LA curator Asha Bukojemsky and hosted by the Ukrainian Cultural Festival in collaboration with e-flux Screening Room. Kyiv to LA is a cross-cultural initiative that invites Ukrainian artists, researchers, and art historians to participate in a Los Angeles-based residency and public program that explores the topics of environment, borders, and shared spaces.

Read more about the 2025 Ukranian Cultural Festival presented by Razom for Ukraine here, and learn about Razom's mission here.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

Bios
ruїns collective is a film and art group that aims to reflect on the world’s complexities from human and non-human perspectives. It was created by Oleg Isakov, Elias Parvulesco, and Teta Tsybulnyk in 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since 2019, the collective has been working as the duo of Teta and Elias.

Oleksiy Radynski is a filmmaker and writer based in Kyiv. His films have been screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Docudays IFF, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London), S A V V Y Contemporary (Berlin), and e-flux (New York) among other places, and have received a number of festival awards.

Daryna Mamaisur (b. Kyiv, Ukraine) is a visual artist and filmmaker. In her practice, she combines theoretical research, filmmaking, and photography. Her main focus lies in the transformations of landscape and public spaces in relation to visual culture, memory, and political ecology. Daryna’s two recent films were personal journeys around distance, migration, and fragility within language when it comes to describing the shocking reality of war. In 2022, she graduated from the DocNomads, a joint master’s program in documentary filmmaking based in Lisbon, Budapest, and Brussels. Her films and video works have been screened in art exhibitions, and she has participated in international film festivals such as Visions du Réel, FIDMarseille, Kassel Dokfest, DOK Leipzig, RIDM and others.

Asha Bukojemsky is an independent curator and public programmer who develops projects that challenge the construction of identity and the politics of memory in a shifting geopolitical landscape. In response to Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022, Bukojemsky established Kyiv to LA, a cross-cultural initiative inviting Ukrainian artists and researchers to participate in a Los Angeles-based residency and public program. She is also the curator of Marathon Screenings, an ongoing film series dedicated to showing experimental, short and long-form moving image works. In addition to her public projects, Bukojemsky has worked for a range of public art organizations and currently holds the position of Senior Art Program Specialist at Metro Art.

Accessibility
– Two flights of stairs lead up to the building’s front entrance at 172 Classon Avenue.
– For elevator access, please RSVP to [email protected]. The building has a freight elevator nearest to 180 Classon Ave (garage door) leading into the e-flux office space. A ramp is available for steps within the space.
– e-flux has an ADA-compliant bathroom with no steps between the event space and this bathroom.

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