Un weekend à l’Est festival dedicated to Ukrainian culture to be held in Paris

From November 23 to 28, the sixth festival “Un week-end à l’Est” will take place in French capital. It is one of the most important festivals in France, which popularises the culture of Eastern Europe through the prism of cities. In 2022, the festival is focused on the culture of Ukraine, namely Odessa.

With this step, the organisers aim to emphasise their support for the Ukrainian people. Over 6 days, at the 20 most prestigious venues in Paris, more than a hundred participants will prove the viability of Ukrainian culture in the face of Russian aggression. American poet Ilya Kaminsky, a native of Odessa, presides this year’s festival edition, while Borys Khersonskyi is a guest of honour. 

“Ukraine is full of colours, full of senses and the desire to ask uncomfortable questions. Empires seek to suppress these senses, but the poet’s role is to awaken them,”

noted Ilya Kaminsky. 

The festival programme includes various events that will familiarise the French with Ukrainian culture and intellectual thought, in particular: 

• concert of pianist and president of the festival “Odessa Classics” Oleksiy Botvinov in the Church of Saint-Sulpice 
• screenings of Ukrainian films, including “Long Farewell” by Kira Muratova (1971), “Man with a Camera” by Dziga Vertov (1929), “Inner Wars” by Masha Kondakova (2021), “Pamfir” by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (2022) 
• concert of soloists of the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater with excerpts from Ukrainian operas in the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés  
• meetings with Ukrainian writers whose works were translated into French. Serhiy Zhadan will present his “Internat”, Sofia Andrukhovych – “Felix Austria”, and Kateryna Babkina, Irena Karpa and Borys Khersonskyi – the collection “Homage to Ukraine”, in which 14 authors talk about their perception of Ukraine. 
• the discussion “To tell the truth” with philosophers Tetyana Ogarkova and Kostyantyn Sigov  moderated by the director of France Culture radio Sandrine Treiner at the Théâtre de la Ville 
• concert of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Oksana Lyniv at the Théâtre du Châtelet 
• discussion “Rebuild Ukraine” with architect Martin Duplantier, president of Architecture et maîtres d’ouvrage, an association devoted to architectural culture 

In addition, other discussions with French experts specialising in Ukraine, and photo and graphic art exhibitions are foreseen. 

The full programme can be found on the festival’s website. The Ukrainian Institute is a partner of the festival.