Recovering Family Histories

A brilliant talk organised by Ukrainian Institute
London with three speakers stories. These are projects
uncovering family histories, relating to Ukraine.

Letters provide physical documentation and insights
into family’s histories. Józefa’s Letters (2019) is
a short film created by Michael Daniel Sagatis.
This focuses on letters written by his great
grandmother. Józefa left her family and was
taken to Siberia. She stayed in regular contact
until her life ended. Józefa’s experiences are
documented in these letters. Sagatis’ film uses
music, theatre and visuals to interpret these letters
and tell stories. These are touching and raw. Of an
author’s hand. An experiences connect
through generations.

Facts and fictions merge in family histories. Circling a
Fox is a film and TV programme by Matthew Zajac.
This is Zajac exploring his father’s story. There are
unknowns and contradictions in what Zajac knows
about his father, and knew as he was growing up.
This is about unknown, unshared and discovered
parts of a family’s life. This is a mainstream TV
production and play with a book.

Histories connect generations. 100 Years in Galicia (2020)
is a co-authored book by father and daughter
Dennis Ougrin and Anastasia Ougrin. Based in
Galicia their talk and introduction included a
map with details of Eurasian Steppe. This steppe
describes why and how people settled in Galicia from
all over Asia. This discussion included roles of place
and place making in histories.





Sources:

Ukrainian Institute London (2021) Recovering Family Histories. [Webinar], Zoom, 25th May.

Sagatis, M. D. (2019) Józefa’s Letters [Online video]. Available from <https://vimeo.com/353994141> [Accessed 26th May 2021].

Ross, B. director (2021) Circling a Fox. [Online]. Presented by M. Zajac. Executive Producer J. Archer. Available from <https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s083#credits>
[Accessed 26th May 2021].

Ougrin, D. and Ougrin, A. (2020) One Hundred Years in Galicia: Events That Shaped Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars.