Bodies (of war)

In a rehabilitation center for war veterans in Lviv, young Ukrainian soldiers who lost arms, legs, and other parts of their bodies during the war fight to regain both physical and psychological strength. Their determined struggle to rebuild their bodies and lives reveals an unexpected form of heroism. Members of Open Group, a Ukrainian contemporary art collective that represented Poland at the Venice Biennale, confront the war through their artistic practice. One of them, Pavlo Kovach, stays in Ukraine to fight. He experiences the conflict simultaneously as an artist and as a soldier, navigating the tension between creative reflection and the realities of war. Beyond Ukraine, Dana, a transgender dancer and artist, wants to live and build her life in Poland. While discovering the freedom to shape her own body and future, she also encounters the complexities of Polish bureaucracy, which does not make this process easy. Through this journey, she continues to build her own identity. Through these intertwined stories, “Bodies (of War)” portrays the fragility and resilience of lives reshaped by a conflict that leaves its mark on every body in different ways.