Peace and art: how the Stars over Donbass festival was held in Donetsk

Screenings of films and cartoons, presentations of new books and visits by guests to the Alley of Angels dedicated to children who died at the hands of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — this is how the eighth international festival of creative industries "Stars over Donbass" was held in Donetsk. Starting in 2019 with the creative visit of science fiction writers to the republic, it eventually turned into the largest multicultural event of the year in the new regions of Russia. However, this time, due to the activity of Ukrainian drones, the organizers had to take unprecedented security measures. In particular, students were informed about upcoming events shortly before they started. This approach paid off — the festival was held without incident.

The festival in the free zone

Donetsk greeted the guests with a partial blackout. Power engineers are now doing their best to maintain the city's energy supply, but even in the center there are dark neighborhoods and intersections with non-working traffic lights. Gathering participants in such an environment in small groups and without announcing the venue looked quite organic.

But all these problems did not spoil the festival. The opening ceremony was held solemnly, as in previous years. Representatives of the Writers' Union and the government of the DPR replaced each other on the stage. For the first time, State Duma deputy Alexander Borodai was able to attend the annual event, joking amicably with the festival's organizer and head of the DPR Civic Chamber, Alexander Kofman. They have known each other for a long time — both literally participated in the creation of the republic in 2014.

"I've been giving Sasha a hard time coming to the festival," Borodai said after the opening ceremony. — But it so happened that I was in Donetsk today. I'm around most of the time, but not in the city. Our sector of the front is not that far from here.

Alexander is not only a deputy, but also the founder and commander of the St. George brigade of the Volunteer Corps of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. In his opinion, the region cannot live solely by fighting. That is why holding the festival, even in such conditions, remains extremely important.

— When the people of Donbass do something in an area other than the war, in the creative field, I want to say a huge thank you to them all. For example, when they organize an event that attracts people not only from Russia," explains Alexander Borodai.

Master classes and film screenings

Many workshops, round tables and conferences were held in various locations in Donetsk. Most of all - in the new youth center "30/09" (the name refers to the date of the referendum on the entry of the DPR into Russia). There has never been such a cultural space in the city before. Thanks to the efforts of Moscow builders, an abandoned shopping mall was turned into it. Now Donetsk youth has got a place where they can always come.

Groups of schoolchildren took turns in the numerous halls of the center. For them, workshops, seminars and film screenings from festival participants are still new.

In one of the halls, students finish watching the animated film "Land of Wonders." After the screening, their questions are answered by the screenwriter of the cartoon and the CEO of the company "Chernovik" Tatiana Belova. There are a lot of questions. Tatiana explains that on the screen, in addition to the fairy-tale world, there is also the real Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. The children are told about the fabulous creatures and the motivation of the characters in the film, then the story begins about how animation is created.

— I am very impressed with Donetsk. I think next year we will come to the festival with a large group and try to bring more tangible benefits," Tatiana shares her impressions of her first visit to the DPR.

Guests from Europe and Latin America

More than 150 representatives of creative professions took part in the event. This year, a record number of foreign guests gathered here, including representatives from Germany, Italy, France, Israel, Italy and five Latin American countries.

Thanks to the Donetsk Republic social movement, the leadership of the United Italy party was present at the festival. And bloggers and journalists came from Cuba, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The guests visited the Alley of Angels, dedicated to the children who died at the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The most serious security measures were taken during the festival. Alexander Kofman says that he could not announce the autograph session of the participants in advance, since it was impossible to tell the date and time of the event ahead of time - any risks could be excluded.

— Children were secretly informed in schools where a particular screening and a meeting with the authors would be, — said Alexander Kofman.

According to him, thanks to the festival, the children saw a completely different Donbass.

— This is also very important! We had to show the whole world that Dmitry Shostakovich's seventh symphony was played in besieged Leningrad, and the Stars over Donbass festival is taking place in Donbass," says Alexander Kofman.

At the same time, he emphasizes: It will be possible to consider the festival fully completed only when all cars and buses with participants safely leave the city. Unfortunately, the threat of attacks by Ukrainian missiles and drones still remains. But the organizers managed to ensure the safety of the guests and participants of the festival — and this is also a success.