ILLIA HLADSHTEIN (Kyiv, Ukraine)

Illia Hladshtein, Kyiv, Ukraine
The festival of cinema and urbanism “86”

There are real miracles in Slavutych, one of the youngest cities in Ukraine. They not only established the first energy co-operative in Ukraine, the “Sunny City” (which we may also include in the conference agenda), or the city department of energy management, but there also one of the most interesting festivals in the country, the festival of cinema and urbanism “86”, takes place.

Illia Hladshtein and Nadia Parfan, who founded “86” in 2014, are a real dream team. While someone only talks about cultural decentralization, “86” truly embodies it: the festival has become the point of attraction for thousands of people now gathered in Slavutych every year. People come to watch selected artistic documentaries, listen to modern music and interact with a unique urban environment.

“Our mission is to generate and spread senses, ideas, and experiences, that bring us closer to utopia,” the founders say. And this is the utopia of the best quality, the creation of cities of human dimension, where there is always a place for dialogue between people, people and art, people and the city itself.

Illia’s path to the cultural work is not immediate. For 5 years he studied at the Bohomolets’ Medical University at the Department of Radiology. Then he was a volunteer at such American festivals as SXSW and Tribeca. And finally there was a moment that changed everything: Illia was introduced to the oldest film festival “Molodist” where he was engaged in shorts’ programs.

“The formation of ’86’ was influenced by ‘Midnight Sun’ film festival,” Illia says. And we can only guess why: either because the Finnish festival continuously streams films all day and night long, or because “Midnight Sun” does not choose winners and the program consists of films brought by festival guests.