Kyiv Theater: An Island of Hope, OVID.tv

According to the actors based in Kyiv, Ukrainian theater overwhelmingly reflected a Russian influence, until Putin’s illegal invasion. Since then, they have increasingly looked towards the European avant-garde for inspiration. Of course, Putin does not care about culture, but it is another example of Russia’s loss of international prestige. French theater director Ariane Mnouchkine is exactly the sort of artist the Ukrainian theater world has been drawn to. To show her solidarity, Mnouchkine travels to Kviv to hold an intensive workshop, which Duccio Bellugi-Vannuccini & Thomas Briat documented in Kyiv Theater: An Island of Hope, premiering tomorrow on OVID.tv.

Throughout her residency, Mnouchkine heard drone raid sirens nearly every night, but fortunately, she never witnessed catastrophic-level destruction. Nevertheless, her traveling company staff fully understood that was a very real possibility, but they joined her anyway. Yet, throughout the workshop, both the Ukrainian and French participants deliberately avoided explicit political subjects and references. The Ukrainians had already had more than their fill.

Instead, we watch numerous improvisation exercises that often resemble out-takes from Samuel Beckett plays. Frankly, these very theatric theatrical performances are the least interesting parts of Vannuccini & Briat’s doc, but they get a majority of the screentime, in a film that clocks in a whisker shy of an hour.

Frankly, the film is much more productive—and memorable—when the directors listen to the Ukrainian thesps recounting their wartime experiences and explaining why they still feel compelled to perform, now more than ever.

Mnouchkine’s desire to reach out and stand with Ukrainian artists is laudable. Viewers should give her nothing but respect. However, her teaching methods do not cry out for a documentary treatment. Maybe the scenes she subtly helps shape just lose something through subtitling. Regardless, most viewers will want more of the Ukrainians and less of her. Respectfully recommended for its topical/historical value rather the actual collaborations it documents, Kyiv Theater: An Island of Hope starts streaming tomorrow (1/9) on OVID.tv.