Editor’s Note: Ukraine is under a uniform nationwide quarantine including the so-called “weekend lockdown” policy, when non-essential businesses stop operations on weekends. The number of COVID-19 cases has been surging. However, the entertainment industry continues to work under the government’s measures that include social distancing, mask-on policy and a limited number of attendees. To let us know about upcoming shows, exhibitions, concerts, movie screenings, festivals and parties, please send an e-mail to [email protected].
Eunic Film Festival
A festival with the “Endless possibilities” tagline, Eunic Film Festival presents 10 hit movies, each from a different country in Europe. Representing the U.K. is “Mogul Mowgli,” a drama about a British-Pakistani rapper, which won the critics award at the Panorama section of the 2020 Berlin film festival. Another highlight is the winner of this year’s Athens film festival “Nova Lituania” – a drama about a geographer who proposes to create “a backup Lithuania” overseas in anticipation of World War 2. Poland’s “Sweat” is a tragicomedy about modern beauty blogging and the 2020 Chicago film festival winner. Older classics like Federico Fellini’s “Orchestra Rehearsal” and Portugal’s “Saint George” are also worth watching on the big screen. The organizers say that all featured films are “stories of real people who found the strength and courage to change themselves and the world around them.”
Eunic Film Festival (screenings in English or with English subtitles). Zhovten cinema (26 Kostiantynivska St.) Nov. 20, Nov. 23-25. Hr 95 per screening
A still from “Numbers” dystopian drama, directed by Oleg Sentsov from a Russian prison. The film will be screened in Kyiv on Nov. 20-25, 2020. (www.latidofilms.com)
‘Numbers’
While Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov is now a free man, his film “Numbers” is a reminder that for over five years, he was imprisoned on political charges by the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sentsov directed the film from a Russian prison, giving instructions through letters to the co-director Akhtem Seitablayev. Based on a theater play Sentsov wrote before his arrest in 2011, “Numbers” is a dystopian tale about totalitarianism told through symbolic characters and set in minimalistic stage surroundings. Although it had a cool reception from the critics, “Numbers” is worth watching as a cinematic manifesto of someone who suffered from the absurdity of a totalitarian regime firsthand.
Numbers (drama in Ukrainian with English subtitles). Zhovten cinema (26 Kostiantynivska St.) Nov. 20, Nov. 23-25. Hr 75-115
People attend Vsi Svoi market in Kyiv on Nov. 7-8, 2020. (TONEPANTONE)
Vsi Svoi Black Market
Even the COVID-19 pandemic can’t stop Black Friday, commerce’s biggest day of sales. Over 200 Ukrainian brands of clothes, shoes and accessories will sell their stock at a discount of up to 50% at the Vsi Svoi Black Market. The event will span Thursday through Friday on Nov. 26-27 and will feature stylists who will help customers make the right choice.
Vsi Svoi Black Market. Vsi Svoi D12 (12 Desiatynna St.) Nov. 26-27. 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free entrance
