Angelik Ustymenko (they/them) is an activist and filmmaker.
In their work they strive for queer, experimental, rebellious expression amplifying the voices of those who are often not heard.
In their work they strive for queer, experimental, rebellious expression amplifying the voices of those who are often not heard.
Determined to support their community and continue queer resistance, they have been documenting the experiences of queer people in the context of war, releasing Ukrainian Queer Fighters for Freedom (2022) and Queer Fighters of Ukraine (2023). Following their short Margot (2019), in 2023 Angelik wrote, directed and crowdfunded Before Curfew, a fictional story of queer romance unfolding over one day in wartime Kyiv, which premiered at Sunny Bunny LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. In 2025, they released two short films Trees that come to me in my dreams and I carry them in me, both are an attempt to explore healing among the constant rupture.
Their films were screened at numerous festivals including Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, BFI Flare, Melbourne Queer Film Festival etc.
