Screening resilience #2: The architects of hope, the first steps in rebuilding ukraine
In 2026, The Civilian Agenda will host one screening each month as part of Screening Resilience—a series that brings together newer and older films to raise awareness and ensure that civilian voices is heard.
Across conflicts and generations, communities carry both pain and resilience from surviving violence inside them: in memory, in displacement, in fractured families, in daily survival. Too often, those lives are flattened into headlines, numbers, or political slogans. The Civilian Agenda exists to do the opposite—to listen closely, to make space for testimony, and to resurface older voices so we do not forget what communities continue to carry as violence persists.
Screening Resilience #2: The Architects of Hope – The First Steps in Rebuilding Ukraine (2024)
Filmed in the midst of Russia-Ukraine war, The Architects of Hope follows five leading Ukrainian architects as they confront the destruction of their cities and begin the painstaking work of imagining how to rebuild them. Rather than returning to the frontlines, the film takes us into studios, classrooms and construction sites, where architects are forced to abandon pre‑war plans, relocate from occupied or devastated areas, and design buildings and public spaces that respond to new realities of displacement, disability and insecurity.
As bold new projects rise in Kyiv and other cities, we also follow students from the Kharkiv School of Architecture as they prepare to shape the long‑term reconstruction of Ukraine. For the architects and students at the heart of the film, hope, is not an abstract slogan but the first practical step in envisioning the future of their communities.
The Architects of Hope is an award‑winning documentary, filmed in English and Ukrainian, and has screened at festivals around the world. It offers an intimate and urgent portrait of those who will one day be responsible for bringing Ukraine’s shattered cities back to life.
This screening is part of The Civilian Agenda’s “Screening Resilience” strand, exploring how people living through war reclaim agency and rebuild their lives long after the headlines move on. By centring architects and urban planners, the film speaks directly to questions of reconstruction, accessibility and long‑term recovery that will shape Ukraine for generations.
Director
Paul Thomas
Producer
Paul Thomas, Steve Cole
Crew
Ruslan Haiduk, Hanna Ohnivenko
On-demand screening
Format: On‑demand virtual screening
Availability: On‑demand, worldwide access within the screening window
Window: Available from 6 March, 7:00 PM GMT to 5 April, 7:00 PM BST
Price: 5.00 USD per person (standard ticket)
Once you purchase a ticket, you will be able to start the film at any time during the on‑demand window, with a set period to complete your viewing after you press play.
