Bela Tarr at the Walter Reade Theatre, NYC June 2023 for a retrospective of his work.
RIP 1955-2026 #belatarr #werkmeisterharmonies #filmmakers #cinema #blackandwhitephotography
I was introduced to Viktor while I was in Kyiv this past August. He invited me to K41, a nightclub that also serves as a community center for gay members of the Ukrainian military and its veterans. From there, Viktor led Ukrainian LGBTQ+ Military for Equal Rights an organization that provides psychological, legal, and peer support to both active service members and veterans. Viktor stepped down this year from leading the organization and was replaced by Oleksandr Demenko (see my previous post). Oleksandr had come out to his mother via telephone whilst he was underground at the Azovstal steelworks and then went on to survive 20 hellish months in russian captivity.
When the conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 with pro-russian separatists, Viktor then 28 years old enlisted. During his two years of service, he hid his sexuality, as homophobia was still widespread within the Ukrainian military. In 2018, Viktor came out publicly, becoming the first openly gay member of the Ukrainian armed forces. Since then, he and his organization have worked to challenge prejudice and transform public attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community. Viktor volunteered again in 2022 and served on the frontlines for another two years until he was forced to step down last year to care for his father who had suffered a stroke.
At the start of the war, many Ukrainians believed that no gay men were serving or dying on the front lines. But as the war has continued, perceptions have shifted. When Viktor was assaulted earlier this year, Ukrainians were outraged that such an attack could be carried out by their fellow countrymen against someone who had defended their country.
For Viktor, the battle at home and the one on the front lines are inseparable. Both, he believes, are about determining whether Ukraine belongs to a European world grounded in freedom and equality, or to a world shaped by russian tyranny, where individual liberty is suppressed. He views this struggle not only as one for LGBTQ+ rights, but for human rights and liberal values as a whole - “We are fighting for everyone here”
#unicornbattalion #kyiv #gayrights #lgbt #lgbtq #slavaukraini #freedom #lgbtqmilitary #
At just 22, Oleksandr was involved in one of the first major battles of the war in 2022 - the battle for Mariupol and the siege of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians held out in the plants mass of deep underground shelters.
Oleksandr was wounded during the fighting and was taken to the plants underground hospital.
Here in the dimly lit bunker amongst countless wounded, the smell of rotting flesh and the screams of the wounded, medics carefully removed his jacket that had melted onto his back from the searing hot shell fragments. Shrapnel was also removed from his head and legs.
Oleksandr recalled “We were short on everything - food, vitamins, water. It wore everyone down, wounded or not. All I could think was that I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live”
After 3 months of fierce fighting, essential supplies depleted and no way of breaking out or being relieved a surrender was negotiated and Oleksandr went in to captivity for the next 20 months.
Though suffering in russian captivity, the hell of the three months underground was now behind him. With the feeling of having nothing left to fear he decided to come out to the men he had fought with and become incredibly close. In his words, “If I die, I’ll die as a gay man and if I survive I won’t hide it anymore” His colleagues, to his relief, fully accepted him.
Now Oleksandr leads the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ Military for Equal Rights an organization that was established in 2018 and seeks equal rights for its LGBTQ service members who are sacrificing their lives helping defend Ukraine. Their fight is not only on the front lines but at home as well.
#freeazovstaldefenders #freeukraine❤️🇺🇦 #unicornbrigade #lgbtqveterans #freemariupoldefenders #equalrights #gayrightsarehumanrights #unicornbattalion
My fervent photographer’s eye caught the sight of Ivan and his kilt during an anti-corruption demo in Kyiv this past August. We got talking about his role as a combat medic on the front lines in the east and his tale of survival.
Ivan joined the Hospitaller Medical Volunteer Battalion in the summer of 2023. He worked as part of an evacuation crew on the front lines using his medical training to help save soldiers and injured civilians.
His colleague was Ira who was 25 years old and had already served several years as a combat medic during the Putin backed pro-Russian separatists conflict in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
One day in June 2024 they were traveling between Ukrainian positions when the evacuation vehicle Ivan was driving struck an anti-tank mine.
Below are Ivan’s words on what happened that day.
“Explosions in general happen very quickly, faster than the nerve impulse spreads in the human body; so a person does not understand anything, not even able to feel the pain. The only thing I managed to see was how the car, the steering wheel and the dashboard flew into my face. And then I came to my senses already lying a few meters outside the car
There were almost no thoughts in my head during that time. The task was to crawl forward as quickly as possible — the faster you move, the faster the evacuation, the operation, and the more medics can potentially save. Apart from my own speed, I couldn’t control anything. And all the body resources were concentrated on the movement. Probably, that’s why I didn’t worry about anything”. (Part 2 in comments section below) #ukraine #combatmedic #slavaukraini #heroyamslava #medic #kilt #hospitallar
‘Afghanistan Bananistan’ RIP Robert Redford. To me along with Donald Sutherland he was one of those iconic movie stars from that great decade of movie making - the 1970’s. He oozed coolness, sex appeal and most importantly he just had the charisma not to mention that great mop of hair and those red mutton chops! Quincy Jones did the soundtrack for The Hot Rock which is unfortunately unavailable on IG. Instead another QJ track from the Italian Job
Very few cats to see in Kyiv. I’m guessing they are all at the frontline. A poster for the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian army. Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦 #3rdassaultbrigade #kyiv #ukraini #ukraine #warcat #cat
The last time I took a night train was in 1986 from Berlin to Paris. Now 39 years later I took the 11.55pm InterCity train from the Polish border to Kyiv a distance of about 715km completed in just under 9hrs for about $70. #ukrainerailways #kyiv #nighttrain
Jay my neighbor down the block. Left home at 18, didn’t go to college and started working on Wall St in the late sixties. She became one of the very first female traders. One marriage later and burnt out she retired at just 47. She’s been a member of Dignitas for the last twenty years and as she told me, ‘As a trader you have to know when to get ‘in’ but most importantly when to get ‘out’ She’s smart and has a plan! #switzerland #dignitas #wallst #trader #silverhair
Congratulations to the charming Son Heung-min, captain of Tottenham Hotspur (and the South Korean national team) who lifted the Europa League Cup trophy last Thursday.
I shot this little ad job in London at beginning of the year for a large multinational company (still under embargo but perhaps you can work it out). It was a tight squeeze setting up in the changing room at their training ground and just about getting a full length on a 50mm lens! Thanks to the amazing @garymorrisroe for making this a fun one #spurs #sonheungmin #thischarmingman #canonr5 #europaleaguefinal #tottenhamhotspurs #50mmlens
