Roman Khimei — Director | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Roman Khimei, together with Yarema Malashchuk, has been working as a filmmaker and visual artist since 2016, exploring the intersections of documentary and fiction to engage with Ukraine’s recent history and present. The work of the duo examines the lingering structures of post-imperial power and their impact on a new generation of Ukrainians, caught between historical trauma and an uncertain future. Through multi-channel video installations and cinematic narratives, they capture the fractured nature of reality, where collective memory and personal experience intertwine. The duo’s practice reflects on the role of the extra, the unseen figures of history, and the ways in which individuals navigate shifting political and social landscapes.

They received the main award of the PinchukArtCentre Prize (2020) and the VISIO Young Talent Acquisition Prize (2021). Their recent short film Additional Scenes won the main awards at Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2024 and the Ukrainian Film Critics Award. The duo has participated in the Future Generation Art Prize 2021, Baltic Triennial 14, Gothenburg Biennial, and Kyiv Biennial, as well as group exhibitions at Haus der Kunst, Castello di Rivoli, and Albertinum. They have also presented solo exhibitions at Kunstverein Hannover and Galeria Arsenał, Białystok.

Their video works are part of collections at Fondazione In Between Art Film, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Kontakt, TBA21, Frac Bretagne, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, among others. Their most recent installation was presented at Dare to Dream, a Collateral Event of the 60th La Biennale di Venezia 2024.

Yarema and Roman are members of the Prykarpattian Theater, an art group that recently established the project Theater of Hopes and Expectations, which was presented at the Ukrainian Pavilion during Venice Biennale Architettura 2023. Yarema Malashchuk, together with Roman Khimei, have been working as filmmakers and visual artists since 2016, exploring the intersections of documentary and fiction to engage with Ukraine’s recent history and present. Their work examines the lingering structures of post-imperial power and their impact on a new generation of Ukrainians, caught between historical trauma and an uncertain future. Through multi-channel video installations and cinematic narratives, they capture the fractured nature of reality, where collective memory and personal experience intertwine. The duo’s practice reflects on the role of the extra, the unseen figures of history, and the ways in which individuals navigate shifting political and social landscapes.

They received the main award of the PinchukArtCentre Prize (2020) and the VISIO Young Talent Acquisition Prize (2021). Their recent short film Additional Scenes won the main awards at Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2024 and the Ukrainian Film Critics Award. The duo has participated in the Future Generation Art Prize 2021, Baltic Triennial 14, Gothenburg Biennial, and Kyiv Biennial, as well as group exhibitions at Haus der Kunst, Castello di Rivoli, and Albertinum. They have also presented solo exhibitions at Kunstverein Hannover and Galeria Arsenał, Białystok.