27-30 NovemberStockholm

The Invitation

In times of deep rupture, culture is not ornament. It is lifeline.

This November, OKO Nordic @ Stockholm invites you into a space of deep relational encounters that make a difference:

Four evenings, four incredible films from Ukraine that will change the way you SEE yourself, the world, and your place in it. 

We sit with visiting filmmaker Tetiana Staneva and fellow directors and artists. We weave stories and art, and step into presence and co-witnessing.

Please join us IF:

  • If you are asking what is yours to do in a rapidly changing world. 
  • If you long to relate more deeply and meaningfully to what is happening in Ukraine -- beyond the overwhelming, abstract and sometimes sensationalised media stories. 
  • If you seek personal connection and embodied forms of solidarity.

See more about the films & venues in the offerings below. Each event has a separate registration page - just follow the links!

What is OKO

OKO means "EYE" in Ukrainian. OKO's films unsettle the gaze and move the heart. The OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival was born in Bessarabia, Ukraine in 2020. It emerged as a bridge between cultures and places, a response to disinformation, and -- in times of war – as a cultural lifeline. It is held yearly in Ukraine and Bulgaria, and a small selection of films also travel to wider European audiences.

Freedom is fought for on many fronts, and OKO's motto is: “culture is always on time”.

The fall OKO Stockholm series builds on the Seeing Through The War cinematographic pilot we held in Stockholm this May 15-17.

Tetiana Staneva is an ethnographic filmmaker, foreign correspondent from Ukraine, and founder and director of OKO since 2020. Her work includes her debut full-feature documentary Place of Power (2018); short documentary Chamur ( 2020); Easter Reconstruction (2021), and the series Disappearing Villages (2023);  the full-feature Letters from the War. Letter 1: The Pulse of Ukraine (2024), From Bloom to Flame (2025), and Her/Вона (2025, forthcoming). 

Tetiana will join us in person for each screening of OKO Stockholm, bringing stories from the front-lines in the East where she's recently been filming, from Kyiv, and of course from her native Bessarabia -- one of the most polyphonic and diverse regions of Ukraine and Europe as a whole, guarding sacred heritage traditions. 

OKO FILMS SELECTION

(Im)possible to Stay/Лишатися (Не) Можна, 2023, Dir. Serhii Zeinalov (Ukraine) 104'

Today, liberated Kherson is under constant shelling by Russian forces, which makes it too risky to open the theater’s doors and receive an audience. The theater is empty — or at least it appears so. From Kherson to Stockholm’s Teater Giljotin, two stages connected by a shared question: What is art’s role when the world is breaking apart?  Trailer.

Thursday, 27 November @ Teater Giljotin, 17:30 - 20:30 Screening followed by discussion & process. Details and registration HERE.

Flowers of Ukraine, Квіти України, 2024,  Dir. Adelina Borets (Ukraine, Poland) 70'mins

This is a portrayal of a strong, independent and anarchist woman full of humor sets out to protect her piece of land against all odds. Her struggle becomes even more existential with attack on Ukraine, never giving up and bringing to the viewers sense of hope. The title, “Flowers of Ukraine,” speaks not only to Natalia’s garden but also to the spirit of the Ukrainian people – beautiful, strong, and unbreakable. Trailer.

Friday 28 November @ Bio Tellus,  17:30 - 20:30 Screening followed by discussion & process. Details and registration HERE.

Life to the Limit, 2023, Dir. Pavlo Peleshok (Ukraine) 1h 47'

From the Revolution of Dignity to full-scale war: successful Ukrainian film producers took up arms to defend the country and cameras to record the gruesome reality. From the fragments of memories and their own film archive, veterans Pavlo and Yurko assemble a mosaic of the causes and consequences of today's Russian-Ukrainian war - from the end of 2013 to today. Trailer.

Saturday, 29 November @ Lakefront, 17:00 - 21:00 Screening followed by discussion & process. Details and registration HERE.

From Bloom to Flame/ Мертва квітка, 2025 Dir. Tetiana Stanieva (Ukraine) '73 mins.      

A documentary about the culture and winter rituals of the Bessarabian Bulgarian minority of Ukraine, and the impact of war on culture since the russian military invasion. With guest ethnographic filmmaker Tetiana Staneva. Trailer.

Sunday 30 November @ House BLIVANDE, Stockholm, 11:00- 15:00  A cultural day exploring the Magic of Bessarabia — its rituals, culture, and the impact of war in Ukraine. Details and registration HERE.

Closing Celebration 

30 November from 18:30, Enter/Exit @ Bacchi Syre.  As the festival’s final lights dim, we gather for a celebratory After GLOW dinner: a warm meeting of Bessarabian-Ukrainian and Sámi heritages, where music, stories, and tastes intertwine. Step into moments of heartfelt connection, soulful food, and the spirit of cultures in dialogue — from the Black Sea to the Arctic Circle. Details coming soon, please keep the evening open. Let’s celebrate what culture keeps alive!!  

SPECIALS: OKO SHORTS Screenings to be announced

My Closet, 2025, Dir. Iuliia Kotsiuba (Ukraine)

My Morning Routine, 2024, Dir. Vadym Adamov (Ukraine)

I Died in Irpin/Я померла в Ірпені 2024, dir.  Anastasiia Falileieva (Ukraine)

Ever After/ Віддалені наслідки, 2025, Dir. Kateryna Molokopeieva (Ukraine)

Address & Registration Links

Registration for each evening of the OKO NORDIC Stockholm Program is accessible at the respective event page:

    The initiative is realised in partnership with Ukraine Culture Now and the the Nordic Ukraine Forum.

    © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Context & our Intention

    Our WHY: War in Europe has ended the illusion that we can remain separate. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has changed how we see the world, and how the world sees itself. In just three and a half years, it has dissolved long-held assumptions: neutrality in Sweden, pacifism in Germany, the belief that trade and interdependence alone guarantee peace. Many feel overwhelmed, frozen, or unsure how to engage. Yet the need for connection and solidarity has never been more urgent.

    Our WHAT: We bring a curated selection of films from the 6th edition of the OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival from Kyiv, Bolhrad, and Sofia to local cultural and community spaces in the North.  

    Our HOW: And we seek to create the right conditions in which we can hold space for this complexity in times of transition and rupture-- not just in our minds, but more importantly in our hearts and bodies. 

    For Ukrainians, these cinematic experiences become a way to hold, speak about, and metabolise what is happening. 

    For Nordic, Swedish and international audiences, they open the door to relational solidarity: to co-witness, to  grieve, act and imagine differently. This is how we can access more of our humanity. It is how we come home to ourselves.

    Going Deeper

    This is not just about films. It is about moving us from spectatorship to entangled listening. From information-receiving to deep presence and co-accountability. This is what we will practice.

    And it's about moving us to action! 

    So, for the brave-hearted, there is an invitation to an experiential process after each screening, including:

    • Circle processes and heart-sharing that root us in connection.
    • Embodied and liberatory practices—NVC, theatre, movement, ritual and more—that help us hold complexity with compassion and discernment, and ground us in the sacred.

    No experience of any kind needed. Only curiosity and a willingness to be moved. 

    These evenings invite us to step out of numbness and abstraction, to look beyond what is visible, and to stand in active solidarity, living peace, together.

    MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY

    If you value what we do, we warmly invite you to be part of our growing circle of supporters. There are many ways to contribute -- through collaboration, spreading the word, or by making a financial gift.

    Whether you are able to join our screenings in person or not, your contribution helps us continue the urgent work of cultural diplomacy and information resistance.

    🎥 Support our Giving Campaign: The battle for freedom, dignity, and truth is waged on many fronts. Your donations go directly toward sustaining OKO’s cultural initiatives. 50% of the amount collected will also go for the direct support for supplies for the 88th Battalion of Ukraine. Swish: 0700564836 (International options coming soon).

    Organisers

    Gea Efremova

    Anthropologist and social development practitioner, and founder of the Gergina Human Development Foundation. Former European policy-maker with doctoral research in nationalism, polarisation and identity-making. Her practice blends Nonviolent Communication, psychodrama, and dance movement, to restore cultural memory and support collective liberation.

    Catarina Allen

    Multidisciplinary designer, movement practitioner, engineer, and researcher working at the intersections of art and embodied culture, technology, and gender studies. Rooted in decolonial thinking, her work explores how visual and spatial design shape social relations and how movement and dance can reclaim them as spaces of liberation.

    Partners

    stupor mundi →
    ukrainenow.se →

    Organized by

    Gergina HDF
    georgia.efremova@gergina.org