On 29 October 2026, two free screenings of the second season of the documentary series about artist-soldiers “Novyi kod_” will take place at the Resilience Centre in Truskavets, 62 Stebnytska Street. The project is dedicated to service personnel and veterans who, despite their military duty, continue to create music, literature and theatre, and to develop contemporary Ukrainian culture.
At 17:00 there will be a special screening for veterans, service personnel, their families and the families of fallen defenders. At 18:00 there will be a public screening open to all. Admission to both events is free.
After each screening, the organisers will host a meeting with the series’ author and director Maryna Chankova, as well as with one of the project’s protagonists — service member, rapper and writer Mykhailo Pravylnyi.
The special screening at 17:00 will include the film “Melody of Memory”, running 33 minutes. It tells the story of veteran Taras Kozub, who, after losing an arm in the war, created a special device that allows him to play the traditional Ukrainian hurdy-gurdy, and became an actor at the Theatre of Veterans. After the film there will be a discussion about veterans’ experiences, creativity, self-realisation and the work of the Theatre of Veterans.
As part of the public screening at 18:00, the audience will see two films: “Not to Let Them Disappear” (22 minutes) — about poet, veteran and paramedic Olena Herasymiuk, and “The Empire Must Die” (20 minutes) — about service member, rapper and writer Mykhailo Pravylnyi. After the screening there will be a discussion of the films, a Q&A session with the author and the protagonist, as well as a short presentation of the art project “Homeward” and the book “Homeward: The Story of My Russification”. The event will conclude with a book-signing session and informal conversation with Mykhailo Pravylnyi.
The second season of “Novyi kod_” focuses on four stories. Through the project “Unfinished”, Olena Herasymiuk preserves the memory of artists whose lives were claimed by the war. Veteran and traditional instrument maker Taras Kozub continues to play the hurdy-gurdy after his injury and performs at the Theatre of Veterans. Writer and service member Serhiy Zhadan talks about cultural life in Kharkiv under shelling. Mykhailo Pravylnyi reflects on his own experience of Russification and, through music and Ukrainian comics, speaks about a conscious cultural choice.
The first season of the series was dedicated to artists directly on the front line. Its protagonists were combat soldiers Oleh Hrabar, Pavlo Vyshebaba, Stanislav Tkachev and Olena Bilozerska. All four episodes are available with English dubbing on the YouTube channel @TheNewCodeDocumentary, and the second season can be viewed on the channel @NovyiKod.
The second season of “Novyi kod_” was created with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation as part of the competitive programme “Art on Screen”. The project’s main partners are Marker Media LLC and Aviokon Proekt LLC.