Ukraine House in Denmark presents Malanka: The Dance of Death and Life, inspired by the motion picture Pamfir, along with the 2024 Christmas Program.

“The holiday is named after St. Melania, whose feast day fell on December 31 and completed the annual cycle”, - explains Oleksii Ananov, curator of the exhibition, which was first presented in the National Center “Ukrainian House” in Kyiv in 2023. “The night is the longest at that time, and the border with the other world becomes thin, which is why various demons come to our world to appease, outwit, or defeat us in a competition. This struggle is going on right now, and for the sun to rise in the morning, you have no right to sleep, but must join the carnival and defeat the forces of darkness in this frantic dance,” Oleksii says.

This exhibition, designed to complement the theatrical world release of Pamfir in more than 20 countries, represents a creative collaboration between its producers and curators. The team includes Alyona Tymoshenko (producer of the exhibition and co-producer of the film), Oleksii Ananov (curator of the exhibition), and Oleksandra Kostina (delegate producer of the film), who will present the project in Copenhagen.

The exhibition draws its dynamic and vibrant visual language from the film's critically acclaimed aesthetic. Pamfir, by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, has captivated audiences worldwide, earning recognition at over 60 film festivals.

“One of the most vivid memories in my life is when I was in the village with my great-grandparents as a child, and Malanka came to the house”, - says Pamfir’s director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. “I was 8 years old, but I still remember that carnival. Unfortunately, later the tradition died in my great-grandfather's village. When I was a student, I saw Malanka in the village of Krasna - a wild, unrestrained rite. It's like a trance that people enter of their own free will, an element of unity with something ancient, with some force that they can't explain. I felt that I wanted to film it because of how these 17- to 20-year-olds were eager to preserve the old tradition!’.

Alongside the exhibition, the special screenings of the Pamfir movie will be organized at Ukraine House in Denmark.

The broader Christmas program at Ukraine House will include a range of engaging events and activities. The renowned Ukrainian musical group Pyrih & Batih will perform traditional Kolyada (Christmas carols), bringing the musical side of Ukrainian Christmas to life. For those interested in hands-on experiences, workshops will allow participants to create traditional Ukrainian Christmas items such as didukh (a symbolic wheat sheaf), straw spiders, and Christmas stars. For the first time, Ukraine House in Denmark will host a festive Ukrainian Christmas dinner in cooperation with Babusia restaurant, where participants can enjoy traditional holiday dishes.

Opening of the Malanka: the Dance of Death and Life: December 5, 2024 at 16:00.

The exhibition is open from December 5, 2024 to January 26, 2025 at Ukraine House in Denmark, Gammel Dok, Strandgade 27B, 1401, Copenhagen

Tuesday to Friday 16:00-19:00

Saturday, Sunday 12:00-18:00

Monday closed

The creative team of the movie Pamfir: Director, screenwriter - Dmytro Sukholytkyi-Sobchuk, Director of Photography - Mykyta Kuzmenko, Production designer - Ivan Mikhailov, Concept artist - Olga Yurasova, Costume designer - Maria Kvitka

Film producer - Oleksandra Kostina, Jane Yatsuta

Producer of the exhibition project, co-producer of the film - Alyona Tymoshenko

Curator of the exhibition project - Oleksii Ananov

Photos by Mykyta Kuzmenko, Anton Kuleba, Anatolii Sachivko.

Organized by Ukraine House in Denmark and Bosonfilm

Supported by the Embassy of Ukraine in Denmark, Politiken Fonden, Open Society Foundations, Ukrainian Institute, and Carlsberg.

Ukraine House in Denmark is a cultural diplomacy institution with a mission to deepen Ukrainian Danish cooperation in the field of culture and creative industries for sustainable peace in Europe. Based in Gammel Dok, Copenhagen, since February 2023, an international volunteer team held 5 exhibitions of Ukrainian contemporary art, architecture, design, and photography, organized more than 70 panel discussions involving 100+ Ukrainian and Danish parliamentarians, journalists, artists, architects and other opinion leaders, integrated Ukrainian content into leading Danish cultural platforms, such as the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, Copenhagen Architecture Festival, Kulturnatten, 3daysofdesign, Copenhagen Photo Festival, etc. Since July 2023, the Ukraine House has become an associate member of the Association of Cultural Institutes of EU countries.

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