Phoenix launches “Unread”, a charity art project giving voice to Ukrainian stories of war and survival

The Ukrainian social cinema-theatre platform Phoenix has presented “Unread”, a major charity project built around real stories of war, displacement, loss and resilience. The initiative was introduced in Kyiv during an event that also summarised the platform’s previous creative season, presented a public report on its social work, and announced new plans for 2026.

The evening gathered figures from Ukrainian theatre, cinema, culture and public life, including Oleh Zahorodnii, Olena Svitlytska, Liubava Hreshnova, Andrii Dzhedzhula, Oleksa Hladushevskyi, Pavlo Rozenko, Olena-Khrystyna Lebid, Vlada Lytovchenko, Oryna Petrova, Iryna Bondarenko, Dmytro Oliinyk, Oleksii Yarovenko, Maryna Bolshukina, Eleonora Kravchenko, Valeriia Solovei and others.

At the centre of the presentation was the idea that some Ukrainian stories remain unheard — not because they are less important, but because pain often has no simple public language. “Unread” is designed to become that language through theatre, film and collective testimony.

The project will develop in two key formats. The first is a theatre tour involving well-known Ukrainian actors alongside graduates of the Phoenix social acting school. Among the participants will be military personnel, internally displaced people from temporarily occupied territories, and children of fallen Ukrainian heroes.

The second format is a series of artistic video novellas created under the direction of cinematographer Serhii Revutskyi. In this digital part of the project, Ukrainian theatre and film actors will become the voices of real stories, allowing them to reach wider audiences beyond the stage.

The first ambassadors announced for “Unread” include Olha Sumska, Daria Tregubova, Natalia Vasko, Maksym Devizorov, Dmytro Oliinyk and Olena Olar, with additional names to be revealed later.

“‘Unread’ is not just an artistic project. It is a platform for the voices of Ukrainians whose stories are still unheard. Its mission is to give a voice to every Ukrainian whose pain remains unspoken, and to transform this pain into collective art therapy and a powerful artistic manifesto. People who have lived through occupation, the front line, the loss of loved ones or forced displacement will step onto the stage. Their stories are not acting — they are reality, and the world must hear them. At the same time, every project event will contribute to supporting Ukrainian defenders,” said Oleksandr Yehorov, founder of the Phoenix platform.

The wider tour is expected to begin in the second half of 2026. In Europe, charity events are planned in Poland, Hungary, Austria, Czechia and Spain. In Ukraine, “Unread” will travel to Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Odesa, Uman, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi.

Before the main tour, audiences will be able to see exclusive pre-premiere performative showings in July. The project will be presented in Warsaw on 15 July with the support of UA HUB, followed by a Kyiv presentation in partnership with the Theatre of Veterans during the annual Festival of First Plays.

Phoenix also used the event to report on its charitable work. The platform has directed more than UAH 650,000 to grant programmes for veterans, displaced people and children of fallen servicemen. Together with the Unlimited Possibilities Foundation, it transferred Mavic drones worth more than UAH 3.6 million to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The platform also allocated more than UAH 150,000 through Help South Ukraine to support families affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, and invested more than UAH 420,000 into the charity initiatives “Christmas Miracles” and “Children of Angels” in partnership with YaMariupol.

Further cultural work included collaborations with the Kyiv Small Opera on “Five Songs of Polissia” and “Makarii from Valhalla,” while the Golden Phoenix theatre festival-award helped raise more than UAH 250,000 for the 36th, 79th and 299th brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The presentation ended as both a report and a beginning. The previous season, shaped by film director Yuliia Pavlova, director and producer Oleksa Hladushevskyi, and cinematographer Serhii Revutskyi, now gives way to a new chapter for Phoenix — one where theatre, cinema and testimony become tools of memory, solidarity and support.

Audiences can follow the project and submit their own story via Instagram: @neprochytani.