The Lights of Kyiv

Lisa is one of the 8 million Ukrainians who have sought refuge in Europe since the war triggered by the Russian invasion. During night-time strolls in the streets of Lausanne, or working on the floor on a canvas inspired by abstract expressionism, Lisa evokes her native city, the keen loss of the sense of freedom that she still associates with it, its smells, and even “the espresso tonic of Bar 1818” – as many fragments of imagination that the forced refugees have taken from home along with their suitcases. In front of her compatriot’s watchful camera, the young woman speaks frankly about her torments and the sense of strangeness she feels in her host country.