IMMERSED will feature at Ukrainian culture days in Palermo
Are you passionate about independent cinema? Do you love stories about memory, roots, and belonging? Come and join us to explore Ukrainian culture through art, literature, and performance.
As part of the third edition of the Ukrainian Culture Days in Palermo (20–28 February 2026, free entrance), we invite you to join three special events taking place on 26, 27, and 28 February in different venues across the city.
Each day will open with a presentation of the IMMERSED project, promoted by CESIE ETS and funded by the ESF+ Social Innovation+ Initiative, a project fostering inclusion, intercultural dialogue, and active participation through art and culture.
The Ukrainian Culture Days are organized on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In this particularly challenging historical moment, the festival creates a space for reflection and encounter, while sharing stories, images, and voices that testify to the strength and vitality of a country that continues to resist.
Upcoming events where you can meet IMMERSED
Three opportunities to meet, listen, create, and reflect together.
Join us on 26, 27, and 28 February to share art, stories, and visions that cross borders and speak about home, memory, and belonging.
Thursday, 26 February 2026 | 8:00 p.m.
Officine Bellotti, Via Antonio Gagini 31, Palermo
Film screening: Sanatorium
Directed by Gar O’Rourke (2025, 1h30)
The film takes us to Odesa, southern Ukraine, inside the Soviet-era Kuyalnyk sanatorium, where patients and staff seek care and humanity while war looms nearby. Through an intimate and thoughtful lens, the documentary intertwines tragedy and humor, portraying life persisting under the sound of explosions.
The screening will be introduced by Carmelo Galati, Artistic Director of Cinema City Palermo.
Friday, 27 February 2026 | 6:30 p.m.
RADICI. Museo della Natura, Via Antonio Gagini 23, Palermo
Performance: How a Fairy Tale Is Born
with Iryna Ozarynska
How is a fairy tale born? Which ancient images shape it?
In this interactive performance, Iryna Ozarynska will guide the audience on a journey from ancestral creation myths to contemporary storytelling. Together with the artist, participants will co-create a fairy tale in the form of an art book, rediscovering the collective power of imagination.
Saturday, 28 February 2026 | 5:00 p.m.
Palazzo Bonocore, Piazza Pretoria 2, Palermo
Book presentation: The Blue Album by Yaryna Grusha
In conversation with Eleonora Lombardo
An intense and poetic autobiographical novel born from a central question: why does Ukraine continue to defend its independence?
Through memories, photographs, and family history, The Blue Album tells the story of the new Ukrainian generation and reflects on the values of freedom and self-determination. A testimony that weaves together personal and collective history, inviting each of us to take a stand.
Ukrainian culture days in Palermo
The Ukrainian culture days in Palermo are curated by Kateryna Filyuk and Olena Moskalenko, under the patronage of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Naples and the City of Palermo, and supported by CESIE ETS – IMMERSED project, Studio Legale Palmigiano e Associati, and Energyhub.
About IMMERSED
IMMERSED – Ensuring employment sustainability and financial resilience through a multi-layered model of well-being and immersion for Ukrainian Refugees in local communities is a project founded by ESF+ Social Innovation+ Initiative.
Partners
For more information
Read more about the project. Visit the website immersed4work.org. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Contact Giulia De Santis: giulia.desantis@cesie.org.
