From August 16-18, the third annual PORUCH Contemporary Culture Festival will take place in Odessa. The event will feature a photo exhibition by Ukrainian photographer Iryna Lupu, film screenings and discussions in partnership with Docudays UA and SUNNY BUNNY film festivals, a literary event in collaboration with the nomadic library Knyzhkovyi Kurin, a presentation of a local ethnographic project, and a music programme. Admission is free with prior registration. The event's partners and official venue are America House Odesa (1a Hretska St.).
The PORUCH Contemporary Culture Festival first took place in spring 2023, showcasing book presentations, a meeting with author Vira Aheyeva, the Odessa premiere of the film Butterfly Vision followed by a discussion with director Maksym Nakonechnyi, and screenings and discussions of the films Stone Cross and Infinity According to Florian, among other events.
The second edition of the festival was held in late August last year in the courtyard of the Odesa National Art Museum as part of the Re/vision exhibition project, organized in collaboration with Litera in the City. PORUCH Vol.2, in partnership with the Dovzhenko Centre, drew over 300 attendees to outdoor screenings of Ukrainian film classics, accompanied by brief lectures from Dovzhenko Centre film scholars.
The third edition of the PORUCH Festival focuses on issues of heritage and identity across cultural, national, and gender aspects, and their intersections.
“At the third PORUCH, we will discuss local ethnography and Ukrainian-speaking writers of Odessa, watch films about Ukrainian queers and the return of cultural values from Paris to Benin, and get to know extraordinary people who are exploring or rediscovering their identity and background,” said Olga Sydorushkina, film curator and founder of the PORUCH Festival.
A detailed programme and announcements of all events will soon be available on the festival’s official Instagram page. Partners of PORUCH Vol.3 and the official venue are America House Odesa. Film screening partners include the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA, independent distributor Kyiv Music Film, the LGBTQIA+ Film Festival SUNNY BUNNY, and distribution company Arthouse Traffic. The literary programme is being developed in cooperation with the nomadic library Knyzhkovyi Kurin. The music programme’s partner location is SupStation and Tapas Bar.
America House Odesa is a cultural and educational center that promotes strengthening ties between Ukraine and the United States. The center hosts various events aimed at exchanging knowledge and experience in the fields of culture, education, technology, and civil society. All events and opportunities are free of charge.
