Wesleyan to show “Two Regimes” film, host special speaker Monday

BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – The West Virginia Wesleyan College Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is hosting a viewing of the film “Two Regimes” Monday, Dec. 12 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Green Alumni Room of the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts.

“Two Regimes” is the life’s work of two Ukranian women, a mother, Teodora Verbitskaya (author of “Two Regimes”) and her daughter Nadia Werbitzky (professional artist). Verbitskaya wrote about her family’s life from 1927 to 1945 while living in Mariupol, Soviet Ukraine, under the two regimes of Stalin and Hitler. Mother and daughter were survivors and witnesses of two genocides: Holodomor from 1932-1933 under Stalin and the Holocaust (1933-1945) under Hitler.

Lucianne Vanilar is the eldest daughter of Werbitzky and granddaughter of Verbitskaya who raised her. She attended colleges and art school in both Germany and the United States and worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Vanilar recently translated her grandmother’s memoir into English and will speak at the event.

Film director Douglas Darlington and curator Kelly Bowen will join the conversation by Zoom. The film runs approximately 33 minutes. This event is free and open to the public.