Svitlana Shymko

This ironic documentary film explores the farewell to the ghosts of the USSR in Ukraine. It takes viewers on a spiritual journey with the ghost of Lenin, guiding them through their past, present, and future. The film delves into the rise and fall of idols and the curious afterlife of history’s ghosts. It is inspired by laws adopted in 2015 by the Ukrainian parliament, which condemned the Soviet totalitarian regime and banned the use of Communist symbols.

A story of lost things and lost people.

After being a volunteer doctor at the frontline during the bloodiest days in revolutionary Kyiv, Tanya continues curing wounded people on Maidan. Meanwhile unannounced war with the Russian Federation breaks out on the eastern and southern Ukraine. She must go to the war zone again.

During the Soviet era, Ukraine was a difficult place for members of the LGBT community, and even today the country remains less than welcoming to sexual minorities. Working with archival interviews of women from the past thirteen years, the film brings together two eras and thus contributes to a discussion of today’s situation.