Donetsk, May 3 — DAN. More than 300 writers, film directors, script writers, musicians and actors will take part in the festival “Stars Above Donbass” in Mariupol on May 3-8, Chairman of the Public Chamber of the Donetsk People’s Republic Alexander Kofman said on Wednesday.
“It’s no longer a mere science fiction festival. It’s a literature festival that brings together writers of any genre, along with musicians, poets, actors and film directors, ” Kofman told the Donetsk News Agency.
Film director Andrey Marmontov, script writers Sergey Volkov, Alexander Kurnosov and Alexey Gravitsky, writers Andrey Lazarchuk, Roman Zlotnikov and Maria Semyonova are among the celebrities who visited Donbass this year. Mariupol is the principal venue of the festival, but participants will visit other DPR towns, too.
“Writers will travel across the Republic visiting military units and hospitals because their stories are read not only in peaceful life but also in the trenches, even more so in hospital wards, the Public Chamber chairman said.
Kofman said that the current forum was regarded as the fifth “Stars Above Donbass” festival though it had been preceded by only three onsite events. It did not take place in 2022 due to the special military operation, but writers initiated a fund-raising action to help people in Donbass. More than 200 writers including Sergey Lukyanenko, Sergey Volkov and Roman Zlotnikov as well as readers joined the action. Festival participants raised more than 15 million rubles for residents of DPR liberated areas, servicemen fighting on the frontline and children in the new regions. The organizing committee decided that the fund-raising action counted as the fourth festival.
Andrey Lazarchuk, a native of Krasnoyarsk, is a philosophical science fiction writer who calls his genre “turborealism.”
Roman Zlotnikov is a Russian science fiction writer working in the genres of military science fiction and adventure sci-fi. Roman was born in Arzamas (Sarov is the present-day name) in 1963. He graduated from a military college in Saratov and served with police.
Maria Semyonova is a Russian writer and literary translator, best known for her “Wolfhound” fantasy series. She authored historical novels and the “We, the Slavs” historical encyclopedia.”
The “Stars Above Donbass” festival will run until May 9. Its organizer is the DPR Public Chamber. Support has been provided by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.*jk