FILMMAKERS and artists from Ukraine will join Welsh historians and creatives in Ebbw Vale later this week for a mini-festival exploring the links between the two nations.

Industrial Dreams will be held at the Ebbw Vale Institute Community and Cultural Centre on Friday, October 21.

The event will look to explore the links between post-industrial South Wales and the heavily industrialised Donbas region of Ukraine.

Both Ebbw Vale and Mariupol were once two of the largest steel producing complexes in Europe, but are no longer as a result of de-industrialisation in the case of Ebbw Vale and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the case of Mariupol.

The event will explore how the industrial legacies of the two regions are entangled and how they speak to each other through images, moving image and personal testimony.

It will feature archival documentation of the steelworks, including records from the de-industrialisation period as well as of post-industrial projects – including the Ebbw Vale Garden Festival.

There will also be contemporary art from Wales and Ukraine that responds to post-industrialisation.

The main event of the festival will be the UK premiere of Eurodonbas; a documentary film following local communities in Ukraine as they explore the historic links between industrial communities in Europe and Eastern Ukraine and address the history of Welsh labour migration to Hughesovka – in what is now Donetsk.

The documentary reveals the last footage of Eastern Ukrainian towns before Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022.

The film's director Kornyi Hriytsiuk and producer Olena Kirichek will host a discussion and Q&A session after the film.

Event organiser Victoria Donovan said: “I’m delighted to be bringing this event to Ebbw Vale.

“I’m originally from South Wales but now work on the Ukrainian East and have been thinking for some time about the historic connections between the two regions.

“Wales and Donbas have much to learn from each other’s histories of political and cultural resilience.

“We are excited to get new generation artists from the two countries talking to each other across borders, and thinking together about their post-industrial futures, particularly at this incredibly difficult moment of full-scale Russian war against Ukraine.”  

And Sian Tucker, centre manager at the Ebbw Vale Institute, said: “Ebbw Vale Institute is thrilled to host and support this half-day festival exploring Ebbw Vale’s history and its connection with Eastern Ukrainian communities.

“We very much look forward to welcoming all as we show our solidarity and support the work of talented Ukrainian artists and filmmakers at the oldest institute in Wales.”

To find out more visit stefhancaddick.co.uk/industrialdreams