WASHINGTON DC – In a somber yet defiant observance of Ukrainian Independence Day, a Washington, DC theater became a stage for a deeply personal reckoning with the war. The documentary “Match in a Haystack,” screened at the Miracle Theater, offered a penetrating look at the inner turmoil of Ukrainian artists grappling with a question many Ukrainians ask themselves: Is my work valid when my country is at war?
The film focuses on a group of contemporary dancers in Kyiv, a city living under the constant threat of air raid sirens and missile strikes. It captures their journey from a sense of professional purposelessness to the powerful realization that continuing to live and create is, in itself, a potent form of resistance.
The screening, co-hosted by Razom for Ukraine, PEN America, and The Pulitzer Center, was followed by a panel discussion that provided critical context to the film’s themes.
Guilt of Living
For the dancers, the decision to continue their art was not easy. Arielle Sherman, the film’s Emmy-winning editor, explained that the dancers grappled with profound guilt, feeling that their pursuit of art was inappropriate amid a national crisis.
However, the film’s core message, as Sherman articulated, is that the simple act of maintaining a semblance of normalcy is an act of defiance.
“Being able to live your life the way that you’re used to living it... is a way to fight back,” she said, highlighting the subtle but powerful rebellion in everyday existence.
Art as a Weapon Against Dehumanization
The panel, which included photojournalist Natalie Keyser and Ukrainian poet Nina Murray, explored how art can serve as a powerful tool for conveying the human cost of war.
Keyser noted that while graphic images of conflict often grab headlines, they can also distance an audience, fostering pity rather than empathy.
She argued that the film succeeds by showing the “humanity of the Ukrainian outside of politics and outside of warfare,” reminding the world that Ukrainians are individuals with complex lives and emotions.
“The artist is the antithesis” of the tribal dehumanization that fuels conflict, Keyser stated. The act of creating is a claim to one’s body and soul, a powerful rejection of the enemy’s narrative.
Physical Act of Resistance
Nina Murray offered a poetic perspective, describing Russia’s aggression as a “tyranny of the sound of an explosion.”
The sound, she said, physically dictates a person’s body to curl up and seek cover. In this context, the dancers’ movements – often confined to the small, cramped spaces of their apartments – become a physical declaration of freedom.
“The defiance here is so powerful and physical,” Murray said, “and that is an incredibly true artistic statement.”
By choosing to move, to dance, and to create, the artists of Ukraine are not just preserving their culture; they are fighting a daily, intimate battle for their right to be free. Their art is a testament to the resilience of a nation determined not only to survive but to live.