Can cinema be a language of memory? Can it shape a country’s image thousands of miles away from home? And can Ukrainian culture in America not only be preserved, but actively create a new history? These very questions became central during the 11th Star Independent International Internet Film Festival, which this year launched its offline […]
Without doubt, books, articles, and studies will continue to be written about Ukrainian volunteerism, adding to those that already exist. In 2014, the powerful surge of national volunteer activity came as a revelation even to Ukrainians themselves. People from every walk of life joined in — from teenagers to pensioners—and, of course, countless artists became
The fourth anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine once again brings us back to the personal stories of those who lived through the first months of the invasion at home — to the sound of sirens, explosions, and anxious news reports. Among them is filmmaker Sia Titova, who remained in Kyiv from the very
The 11th International Internet Film Festival Star Independent became one of those events that goes far beyond the usual festival format. Its Miami event, held for the fourth time at Ashkaneli restaurant in Miami, turned not only into a cinematic occasion, but also into a space of cultural memory, international dialogue, civic solidarity, and charitable
In a rapidly changing world, sometimes it takes just one story — raw, honest, with all its breaks, falls, and rises — to remind us: courage changes everything. The story of Polina Herman is one of those. It’s the story of a woman who journeyed from a small town in Crimea to the red carpets
Childhood dreams are idealistic because it’s natural for a child not to model out life’s difficulties or evaluate her prospects through the lens of reality, but instead through the vivid colors of her own imagined world. «I’ll be an actress, marry a producer, and move to Italy!» — 10-year-old Mariia Demydenko (who now goes by
