Human Rights Watch Film Festival: When Spring Came to Bucha
144 West 65th Street
New York, NY, 10023, United States
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The Dart Center is a presenting partner for "When Spring Came to Bucha" at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival is back in NYC cinemas and online across the US from May 31- June 11, with live discussions at every in-cinema event. This year’s edition covers a broad range of themes and topics – but what shines through is the determination and courage of individuals to stand up for their freedom and rights.
The Dart Center is a presenting partner for "When Spring Came to Bucha." In March 2022, Russian troops withdraw from a small town in the Kyiv region, and Ukrainian citizens emerge from their homes to clean their streets, rebuild, and face a new day while grieving all that’s been lost. This film poignantly captures how a small community continues with life amid trauma and loss, while war rages on close by.
In early 2022, the small Ukrainian town of Bucha near the capital, Kyiv, was occupied by the Russian army for several weeks. After a month of intense fighting, the Russian army withdrew, leaving the town destroyed in its wake. In When Spring Came to Bucha, citizens share their stories as they clean their streets of debris and re-build their shattered homes. Yuri, municipal services manager, struggles to keep people supplied with clean drinking water. Olenka is the only pupil in her classroom after two of her classmates are killed, the rest having left the country. Yet in the midst of suffering, a young couple gets married, and life must go on. This heart-rending yet empowering documentary tells stories of loss, hope, and resistance, as the spring flowers of Bucha begin to bloom.
Discussion to follow screening with filmmaker Mila Teshaieva and Masha Gessen, Russian-American journalist, author, translator, activist.
In-Person Event: New York: Film at Lincoln Center's Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center; Wednesday, June 7, 6:30-8pm EDT
Discussion to follow screening with filmmaker Mila Teshaieva and Rachel Denber, Deputy Director, Europe & Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch.