Freefilmers Ukraine vol. I

Block of short films, directed by various members of the collective, 70 min.,
Ukrainian language with English subtitles

Freefilmers is a collective of filmmakers and artists from Mariupol in Ukraine.
For the last five years we have been working with the themes of urban transformations in eastern Ukraine and its multicultural vibes. We have been exploring the creativity of the working class and the industrial history and present of the post-socialistic towns. Our current projects focus on memories and archives beyond the official historical narratives and gender(ed) violence in the patriarchal capitalist society. We have always held onto the anti-capitalist attitudes and intersectional feminism and our goal was to create a different form of film work, founded on collaboration and ethical principles and approaches.
On the 24th of February Russia started the extensive invasion of Ukraine. The cities where we used to work are bombed and shelled everyday. Many of us had lost their homes, working tools and conditions. And we are still not in contact with many members of the artistic communities in the east of Ukraine since these areas were destroyed by the Russian army and there is no cell network anymore. Currently the most important sequence on our timeline is not about filmmaking but about building a net of solidarity and support for Ukrainians who suffer under the Russian imperialist aggression and are fighting against it.