Synopsis

Between November 2013 and February 2014, the Maidan, Kiev's central square, was the main location for civil protests against the Ukrainian government. Of course, numerous artists offered resistance as well – with their works and performances, and also with ambitious initiatives such as “Download and Print”, which prompted the citizens to plaster all of Kiev with critical posters. Director Natalia Babintseva, a Russian living in Moscow, with Ukrainian relatives, turns the cultural aspects of the revolution into a sort of museum on screen. The feature's starting point are those exhibits that were created directly at the Maidan and displayed in a small museum in Kiev after the protests. The lines between weapon and art object cannot always be clearly defined here: catapults were built, helmets coloured, decorated street signs converted into shields, but also light bulbs turned into Molotov cocktails. Film clips of art happenings at the Maidan are contrasted with art objects, and artist collectives such as Mystetskaya Sotnya (Artistic Hundred) get a chance to speak as well as curators and Maidan activists. Even the Vienna Künstlerhaus, where an exhibition of Maidan art was curated in 2014, has a guest appearance.

Guests

Marianna Golubovskaya

Marianna Golubovskaya
Writer and editor Museum "Revolution"
In Vienna: October 1-6

Anatoly Golubovsky

Anatoly Golubovsky
Producer Museum "Revolution"
In Vienna: October 1-6

Konstantin Akinsha

Konstantin Akinsha
Curator: Museum "Revolution"
In Vienna: October 1-4

Alisa Lozhkina

Alisa Lozhkina
Curator Museum "Revolution"
In Vienna: October 1-5