Discussion with: Oksana Lushchevska,– writer (online), Wira Romanyszyn – translator, Rafał Szczerbakiewicz – moderator | Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 5a – 2nd floor POL, UKR, PJM  

About the Book

A moving story by Oksana Lushchevska, That Maya Who Made Movies introduces young readers to the life of Maya Deren—an avant-garde filmmaker, actress, screenwriter, and photographer born in Kyiv. Faced with antisemitic pogroms, Maya emigrates with her family to the United States, where she discovers a passion for photography that eventually draws her into the world of experimental cinema. The author shows how imagination and determination help Maya overcome life’s challenges, while Olena Vasina’s whimsical illustrations capture the unique atmosphere of her artistic vision. This is more than just a biography—it’s a tale about the power of dreams and how passion can shape a life and leave a mark on global culture.

About the authors

Oksana Łuszczewska –a prolific Ukrainian writer, with 60 books for children and young adults to her name. She’s also a talented translator, literature scholar, and a member of the Ukrainian PEN Club.
Lushchevska earned her PhD at the University of Georgia in the USA, where she taught children’s literature. Her expertise extends to reviewing translated books for the American section of IBBY and contributing articles on Ukrainian children’s literature to the IBBY European Newsletter. She even penned the libretto for the musical Shusha the Mouse Show.
Her works have resonated globally, with publications in Ukraine, the USA, the UK, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Poland. A highly decorated author, she’s received numerous literary awards and prizes, including the Of Earth and Sky poetry competition in 2020. In 2017, her story Wind Beneath the Sun was honored with inclusion in the White Ravens list by the International Youth Library in Munich. More recently, the British edition of her book Silent Night, My Astronaut was named one of the top five books of 2024 by The Financial Times.
Beyond her writing, Lushchevska is the founder and curator of the creative group “STORY+ME” and shares her knowledge by teaching creative writing courses.

Wira Romanyszyn – is a translator and lecturer of Polish as a foreign language, holding a PhD in the Humanities from the Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University in Drohobych.
From 2004 to 2019, she worked at the Igor Meniok Polish Scientific and Information Center at Drohobych University. Between 2008 and 2016, she also coordinated international cooperation for the “Alter” Artistic Association. Her work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including a scholarship from the Józef Mianowski Fund (2010) and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage’s “Gaude Polonia” programme    RP (2014).