The Russian invasion of Ukraine’s entire territory began exactly one year ago, Some of the characters in Elwira Niewiera’s and Piotr Rosołowski’s film are now at the frontline, while others are struggling with the consequences of the war in their everyday lives. Thanks to The Hamlet Syndrome viewers around the world can meet people similar to themselves who are fighting for their homeland today.
The show, which will take place on 26 February at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music, will have a symbolic dimension. The screening will be followed by a meeting with the director duo, hosted by Maria Genkin of Razom for Ukraine. The event will take place courtesy of and thanks to the efforts of BAM, Polish Cultural Institute, Razom for Ukraine, Grand Founders, German Film Office, Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
War has taken a heavy toll on the generation of young Ukrainians. Several months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, five protagonists – inspired by the motifs of Hamlet – return to the brutal experience of recent years on stage trying to overcome their traumas. Each of them struggles with disappointment, helplessness, or anger in their own way. SLAVIK went through the real hell of war and captivity as a soldier. KATYA wants her mother to finally forgive her for going to the frontline. RODION escaped from the conflict-ridden Donbas and, as an LGBT person, is struggling with growing homophobia in post-revolutionary Ukraine. ROMAN, who tended to wounded soldiers as a military medic, is still fighting his traumatic memories. OXANA, as an actress, takes up the fight on the artistic front. What’s most significant – no matter the values they represent, recent years have been a series of shocking experiences that left a brutal mark on their minds. For each of them, the theatre stage becomes a tribune for shouting their regrets while asking themselves Hamlet’s central question: to be or not to be?
You can read more about the screening here.