“What Shall We Do With These Buildings?” is a documentary-dance film which explores the legacy of Soviet architecture in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Moving fluidly between interview and dance, the film playfully investigates the dynamic impact that these buildings have on the people who live with them. What should be done with them? Should they be preserved, destroyed, repurposed? What power do they hold over the way people think and interact with their environment?

Since this film was shot, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and Kharkiv is now being shelled. As such, the film’s examination of the subtler cultural memory of Russian domination in Kharkiv has taken on a new meaning. Now, it serves as a snapshot of an independent, hopeful Ukraine trying to find its feet, at a time when that independence has never been more fragile. We hope it provides an insight into how much Ukraine stands to lose.