Voice Message from the War (Documentary Audio Performance)

A voice message is close, even if someone is far away. It carries breath, pauses, fatigue, humor, fear, and tenderness. Sometimes it's just a short sign of life. Sometimes an attempt to stay connected. Sometimes it contains exactly what cannot be said elsewhere. Since 2014, Russia's war against Ukraine has shaped the present of many people in and from Ukraine, and with new severity since the full invasion in 2022. Young queer life also takes place under conditions marked by air raids, uncertainty, loss, and flight. At the same time, friendship, love, community, anger, hope, and self-assertion are part of it. Some have stayed, others have fled Ukraine. Even in a new place, Ukraine remains part of their everyday lives: in news, memories, conversations, and in the question of how life can go on. Little has been heard about queer life in Ukraine during the war in Germany so far. It often deals with geopolitical situation reports, military developments, or humanitarian aid. Less often, it deals with personal experiences, bodies, relationships, language, desire, and the question of how queer everyday life continues under these conditions. Many stories are told only cautiously, remain fragmentary, or are not spoken at all. For "Voice Message from the War," the Düsseldrama team traveled to Ukraine in July and conducted interviews with young queer Ukrainians on site.