The art of the cutting edge: How was the Stars over Donbass festival?
Performances in hospitals, poems about the war, concerts and theatrical performances that were sold out — this is how the seventh Stars over Donbass Festival ended. It was held this year in Donetsk, Mariupol and for the first time in Melitopol. Starting in 2019 as a creative visit to the unrecognized republic of science fiction writers, the festival has become one of the largest multicultural events of the year in Russia. The Izvestia correspondent attended several events and, together with the festival's propaganda team, visited the wounded soldiers in the hospital.
Help from the front
The events of the Stars over Donbass festival are taking place in Donetsk for the first time since 2022 — now the front line has been moved far enough to the west so as not to endanger participants and spectators. This year, for the first time, part of the performances took place in the city of Melitopol, Zaporizhia region. In this area, the successful actions of our troops also ensured a peaceful sky over the festival grounds. And in Mariupol, esports tournaments, theatrical performances, musical and poetic performances were held.
"Stars over Donbass" is one of the largest multicultural festivals in Russia, which unites various genres: music, theater, and even computer games.
"Our festival has never ended immediately after the official closing ceremony," said Alexander Kofman, founder and organizer of Stars over Donbass, head of the DPR Civic Chamber. — Books and collections are published throughout the year, and virtual projects in the gaming industry are being implemented. The festival includes more than 350 events, but that's not all.
Only two dozen science fiction writers participated in the first festival in 2019. Today there are more than 400 people. And these are representatives of many creative professions: writers, actors, directors, artists, and even computer game developers.
"The entire creative industry has gathered, except for cooking," Alexander jokes.
Among the participants are such authors as Roman Zlotnikov, Oleg Roy, Mikhail Bashakov, Vadim Panov, Alexander Pelevin, Anna Revyakina, Oleg Chilap.
Anna Revyakina
The organizers were able to convince the command to release an active serviceman to the festival.
— This is a wonderful poet Dmitry Filippov, — said Alexander. — Of course, we did not insist that it be massive, a special military operation is underway.
According to him, a lot of former military personnel take part in the events.
— Our propaganda teams of musicians, writers and poets are working, who go to the fighters with their numbers and performances, — says Alexander Kofman.
The frontline position
The campaign teams of the festival visit the units operating in the DPR every year, it has already become a tradition. We also went to one of the hospitals with the artists. They perform on an improvised stage in the lobby in front of the recovering fighters.
Mikhail Dergilev and Evgeny Golyshev from the Omsk State Musical Theater are the first to take the stage. Last year, they showed the play "Notes about their own" in Mariupol, the first production among professional theaters in Russia about the heroes of the war in Donbass.
This is their first time performing in front of military personnel. There are representatives of different generations among the audience, but the audience listens attentively to both new and old poems and songs about the war.
— It was very exciting to look into their eyes, sing songs and read military poems close to them. To see the response and reaction in their eyes is absolutely priceless," Mikhail comments on his impressions after the performance.
Mikhail Dergilev and Evgeny Golyshev
He says that the events in Donbass were not strangers to him and the entire staff of the Omsk Musical Theater. The main director worked in Donetsk even before his own time, where he staged several performances, and saw with his own eyes how events unfolded in the DPR.
— When our work began, he and I began to think about how we could get involved, what we could do besides the help that we collect from the theater, — Mikhail Dergilev recalls. — They staged a performance. One of the choir's artists has been serving under contract since 2022, and the children of our employees have been participating in their work. This topic is close to the theater.
Mikhail says that their production tells about Givi (Mikhail Tolstykh, a militia member of the first wave, a Hero of the DPR, who was killed by Ukrainian terrorists).
— We entered the territory of the DPR and drove past Ilovaysk, where he comes from, — says the artist. — I saw these places with my own eyes, I saw the guys who are sitting in front of me, and recently were on the front line, injured. It gives you new strength, new thoughts and feelings that you need to convey through your creative work.
Dozens of conferences, presentations and workshops are taking place within the framework of the festival this year. Many events are held for Donetsk youth and schoolchildren, who have started full-time education throughout the city only this year, and for several years have been deprived of the cultural life they are accustomed to in peaceful regions.
The Armageddon Group
Last year, two teenagers became the opening act of the festival — this is the band "Armageddon", which surprised with cover versions of classic rock compositions. They performed this year as well.
— During the year, the boys have done a lot of musical work, they are developing in their own direction. They are very happy to communicate with their elders at the festival, today they participated in improvisation with Sergey Letov (Egor Letov's brother) and Nikolai Bichan, they are much older and more experienced, it is very important for children of this age to perform with such great stars," says Svetlana Zinchenko, the mother of the young guitar brothers.
Anna Revyakina, a poet and member of the Public Chamber of the DPR, speaks about the great importance of the festival for Donetsk and the DPR.
— I always say that Donetsk is a city of roses, checkpoints and poets. It is incredibly important that people come, establish a huge number of horizontal connections, make friends and help each other. Multiculturalism, when people from different fields meet, helps to create synergetic, voluminous projects at the intersection of different arts," Anna is sure.
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