Cultural Diplomacy: Artistic Action in Support of Ukrainian Prisoners at the 81st Venice International Film Festival

The 81st Venice International Film Festival hosted an art event to draw attention to Ukrainian civilian and prisoners of war held by the aggressor country Russia, according to a press release.

The event was organised by the team behind the documentary Songs of a Slowly Burning Land, directed by Olha Zhurba. Her film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The participants of the action wore embroidered clothes depicting the distance from the island of Lido to the eight places of detention where Ukrainians are being held by the Russians.

The format and look of the embroidery was developed by Ukrainian designer Alisa Lyubomskaya. She has put many different meanings into her products and hopes that everyone will see something different: for some, the embroidery will look like a written letter, while for others the threads will remind them of blood.

‘Embroidery is also an art, so this format fits perfectly into the framework of the Biennale. I chose hand embroidery, which makes each letter unique, and the text looks as if it were written by hand. It's similar to what people write in letters, which is often the only way to keep in touch with prisoners, even if it is uncertain. In addition, embroidery is our cultural code, and such elements are an additional opportunity to say who we are; to show that it is part of our culture,’ the designer said.

‘Songs of a Slowly Burning Land is an audiovisual diary of Ukraine's plunge into the abyss of total war, filmed during the first two years of the full-scale invasion. According to the press release, the film is ‘composed of places, people, rare dialogues, distinct sounds and silences that slowly reveal the tragic chronology of the normalisation of the sense of war in society’.

While preparing for the premiere, the filmmakers decided to draw the attention of international media and festival guests to the problem of imprisonment of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.

‘We wanted to remind people of the terrible conditions of detention, of illegitimate trials and fabricated charges, of torture and death. About everything that Russia, a terrorist country, is still doing with impunity to people who should not have been there at all,’ says director Olha Zhurba and adds: ’This is a great tragedy that few people abroad actually know about. And for which all those who are behind it and responsible must be punished and held accountable.’

Olha Zhurba stressed that she wanted to unite two polar worlds: the world of art and life with the world of torture and death.