Program Archive

Join us at e-flux Screening Room for “Swamps, Steppes and Souvenirs,” a group screening featuring films by Daryna Mamaisur, Oleksiy Radynski, Darya Tsymbalyuk, and ruїns collective (Teta Tsybulnyk and Elias Parvulesco). The program explores the vastness of Ukraine’s ecology and the powers—both real and imagined—that have shaped its landscape. Unearthing deeply layered histories and personal narratives, the films address Russian imperialism, western romanticization, and memories rooted in loss and discovery. This program is hosted by the Ukrainian Cultural Festival in collaboration with e-flux.

Environmental destruction has dramatically altered our understanding of home, place and belonging. Tracing ways in which ecological grief is echoed and reckoned with across these different contexts, the Thomas Mann House- which recently reopened after the devastating Palisades Fire- presents a conversation between Darya Tsymbalyuk (University of Chicago) and Ursula Heise (UCLA). The conversation will open with Tsymbalyuk introducing her recent book Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia’s War (Polity, 2025) and sharing poignant accounts of witnessing ecocide in her homeland of Ukraine. Drawing connections between Ukrainian experiences and the scarred lands of the Pacific Palisades, Tsymbalyuk and Heise will discuss the loss of cherished places and examine the role of storytelling and cultural imaginations in ways of inhabiting the damaged Earth.