‘The Olympic Mishka’ (Olympic bear) is the mascot of 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, one of the happiest episodes in life of the Soviet Union. One can still spot these ‘mishkas’ everywhere in Ukraine: on the driveway to Kiev, in parks and on the streets. These smiling bears are stuck in the heads of Ukrainian people as a coded illusion of welfare based on double standards. ‘The Olympic Mishkas’ were chosen to be the Docudays UA 2016 symbol to help Ukrainian society to get over the political hypnosis and illusions, over the belief that someone is going to solve our problems for us.

Photo: Docudays Official Facebook page
This year’s THROUGH ILLUSIONS theme was chosen because the whole world is trying to break though illusions to some new civilization order; countries and nations are leaving many of their illusions nowadays. The illusion of stability of the world order that democratic countries have agreed on is falling apart. The world’s illusion about weak Ukraine and Ukrainians not capable of self-organization is gone and Ukrainian illusions about international institutions in the UN system ensuring the world order without war and aggression for human rights protection are gone too.

Read: New Exhibition at the National Art Museum in Kiev

Photo: Docudays Official Facebook page
At the same time, new fundamental question arises: maybe it is time for the government and the society to get rid of the illusion that it is possible to reform the country in everyone’s interests without changing basic social conditions and legal regulations. Maybe this way through the thick jungle of the oligarch regime is our main exam in civic maturity that will lay the base for true democracy and protected human rights.

During the 2016 Docudays Film Festival in Kiev, the audience is invited to join the directors, human rights activists and experts from different countries, Ukrainian officials and Maidan revolutionaries in attempt of an intellectual break THROUGH ILLUSIONS. Check out the program and join!