DISCUSSION with a film screening: Rivers as Political Bodies
On rivers, war and ecological memory — from the Dnipro to the Vltava
Rivers as Political Bodies: An Evening at the French Institute, Prague
What does it mean to think of a river as a political subject — one with memory, agency, and rights? On the occasion of the third anniversary of Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, the research centre "Ukraine in a Changing Europe" at Charles University and the French Institute invite you to an evening exploring the creative and political lives of the Dnipro and Vltava rivers through art, poetry, and film.
The speakers:
- Darja Lukjanenko is an interdisciplinary artist and PhD candidate from Dnipro, Ukraine, whose practice centres on postcolonial identity and the reconstruction of collective memory suppressed under Soviet rule.
- Sylva Fischerová is the City Poet of Prague and a Charles University professor of classical philology, celebrated as one of the most significant Czech writers of her generation.
- Sofia Nyblom is a Swedish journalist, essayist, and independent researcher specialising in Ukrainian art, cultural diplomacy, and artistic responses to Russia's ecocide.
Moderated by Valeria Korablyova - a sociologist and political theorist at Charles University, where she leads the Research Centre "Ukraine in a Changing Europe" and focuses on post-Soviet transformations and imperial legacies.
Debate in English
Free entry - please make reservation
Following the discussion, a selection from the award-winning documentary Divia (2025) will be screened. The film is a Ukrainian co-production that bears poetic witness to environmental destruction in wartime — tracing how ecology becomes both a battlefield and a form of resistance, and how communities maintain their bond with land amid conflict. Divia has been recognised at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the IDA Documentary Awards, and the UN Climate Change Conference.
