Discoveries from Ukraine World Cinema

Life flows in its everyday reality, but then suddenly something elusive changes its course. All that is left is the chance to plunge into memories where everything is preserved, as if in a museum.

Every day, a man parks a car in the pedestrian zone. One day, he notices that he almost ran into a young tree. After that, he orders fences for all the seedlings so that they are not worn by other drivers.

A Berlinale award nominated short feature.

This is the beginning of projectionist's day.

In a nightclub, a handsome and beautiful dancer Maxim meets a young girl Masha from Konotop. They waltz to the delight of everyone present. Soon, by chance, Masha comes to get a job in the capital real estate agency, which is run by Maxim. He not only takes the girl to work, but also falls in love with her and even, having parted with all his numerous mistresses, decides to get married. But Masha suddenly disappears.

Marina is writing her doctoral dissertation on the phenomenon of mono-industrial cities — settlements built to serve the needs of a single, large enterprise. But the cold-blooded researcher doesn’t even suspect that she herself could be easily swallowed up by the very subject of her study.

May 2014. Serhiy Zhadan, Oleksiy Vorsoba, Vlad Kreymmer, and Olha Mykhaylyuk have gathered in Mstsyhovsky’s estate (Seleznivka village), near the town of Alchevsk, to work on the musical and literary production entitled ‘Punctuation’. Everything is going on in waltz time.

A young boy with supernatural abilities was abducted by the C.A. for experiments and to assist in the study of other dimensions,but…

Tymofii is a little pickpocket. He lives his normal life until he suddenly falls in love with the next on the lady station officer at the Teatralna station.

What happens to a person when whole decades are torn out of his memory? This is a story of life put on “repeat”, story of permanent loss and discovery. My father lives in Donetsk and started losing his memory when armed hostilities began. Now he can`t remember the latest 10 minutes of his life. I come home after I haven`t seen my parents for a year. I talk to Dad, trying to pull out some of his memories through music, books and family stories. We can hear the shelling far off. But that is not the worst - even harder is the loss of memory, gradually taking my Dad away from his family and his past, squeezing the world to a few simple and important things.

After committing the suicide, a Girl appears in a city of suicides - Sui Caedere. To leave this place and be born again, she has to spend in the city 37 years, unreservedly observing all the rules.

A mother and son exist in a confined space of constant conflict, where every conversation turns into a fight. They flee their own identities, where love becomes a form of pressure, and care a source of hatred. Both characters speak the same language, but they invest words with different meanings, leaving each other no chance to be heard. The disappearance of their son becomes the point of no return. Having lost her last connection to life, the mother is left alone with a void where suicide is not a cry for help, but the result of a total misunderstanding. It's about the silence that follows words spoken too late.

“Mariupol. Chronicles of Hell” is a story about life in the city from the first days of the war until the beginning of April.

Explosion of the condensed milk on the kitchen stove - seems to be the worst thing that can happen. Even those who are responsible for its consequences don't know what will be next. A small crash in a small apartment can be an occasion for something more.

Post-revolutionary Ukraine through a community of people who ‘try to build a new society’ in the cracks and pores of a collapsing social system. The film unfolds in central Kyiv, in a space that has been reclaimed from the city by forces of nature. As a result of a series of landslides, the area of Petrivska street has become untenable and was subsequently occupied by the outcasts and outsiders of all kinds. A secretive graffiti team, a group of tech geeks and an avant-garde gay theatre that fled the war in Luhansk all struggle to create a place where they could coexist outside the pressure of dysfunctional social structures.

The owner of a large construction company struggles to get permission to build a house in a garden square. An unexpected parcel from an old friend helps him make the only right choice.

A man destroys the nest of an unknown creepy creature. But it's not the most horrible creature he will meet tonight.

The film is dedicated to the problems of rational use of land resources. The film shows the Avangard collective farm in Chernihiv Oblast and the Michurin collective farm in Sumy Oblast. Doctors of Agricultural Sciences V. Medvedev, O. Tararyko, and Doctor of Economics V. Shepa are interviewed.

A story about Ukrainian monumental art of the Soviet period in Mariupol. Photographer Stanislav Ivanov lived in Mariupol all his life. He studied history, streets, houses, monumental art. Some of the mosaics are more than half a century old. The "Tree of Life" panel - created by a team of artists led by Alla Gorska and Viktor Zaretsky - was bricked up after the death of the artist and reopened in 2008. This and other stories were collected by Stanislav Ivanov and art critic Oleksandr Chernov in the album "All Shades of Mariupol Mosaics". After February 24, 2022, the mosaicists, like hundreds of thousands of residents of Mariupol, became hostages of the occupying forces of the Russian Federation. In the film, we are transported to peaceful Mariupol in December 2021 and, together with Stanislav, explore the city and its mosaics, transported to a place where time and the elements seemed to be the greatest threats.

The old man’s daughter married the foreigner and moved abroad. Only his neighbor Gienyk remembers his name. Others call him “Beard”. “Beard” feeds hens, smokes cheap cigarettes, goes fishing as an ordinary villager. But nobody, even Gienyk knows what’s on his mind. His daughter visits him while passing by. He’s not at home at that moment. When he comes back, he founds his daughter on the threshold, ready to leave. The old man sees off his daughter with sadness. And then takes the gun. Everything’s going to change in a moment… The Beard will disappear.

In this digitally rendered speculative future, the dead from the war on Ukraine are given the choice to live again – to reckon with past trauma. Painful memories can be removed and archived to a living monument, revisited with an emotional distance; full memory immersion for perpetrators ensures they never forget.

Lera has been living in Berlin for almost a year after the start of the war in Ukraine. Lera does not feel well in Berlin and makes an impulsive decision to go to Kyiv, for the first time during the war. On the way to Kyiv, she learns that her family is not in Kyiv, and will come only the next day. Therefore, she meets her friend Kyryl, with whom she spends the day, as she used to before the war. In the morning, Lera meets her mother and sister, and finally feels at home. But she still doubts whether she will stay in Kyiv or go back to Berlin.

Arsen, a Roma who shattered the stereotype that Roma do not fight, joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces in February 2022, he was seriously injured during the liberation of Kherson. After a month in a coma, he faced amputation, escaped from the hospital, struggled with addictions. Now, as a veteran, Arsen is undergoing psychological and physical rehabilitation, seeking employment after losing his previous job due to disability, and adapting to a new beginning in life.

A documentary-observation of 16 children creating their own fairy tale during a 15-day inclusive film art workshop at the "Dzherelo" Rehabilitation Center.

About how a man who tries to achieve a goal but is constantly faced with many obstacles. This is not only external factors; it is often the inner glow that attracts buddies calling and other distracting factors. Will he be able to overcome them, not losing himself in the countless little things of the everyday hustle and bustle?

Young people of Russian minority in Riga having a New Year and Millennium party. Everything looks even too much typical: sparklers, bright dresses, sparkling wine and fireworks. At least one thing might be questionable for the viewer: why these people listening anthem of USSR in loop?

What if two teenagers get into a ridiculous situation, just because both of them see this world through the rose-tinted glasses.

A documentary short with no narration, just the music by Anton Baibakov in the background, consisting of black and white photographs Olexandr Glyadelov took between 24.02.2022 and 31.05.2022 in Ukrainian cities - Kyiv, Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Gostomel, Moshchun, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Male Rohan, Chuhuiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk.

Facing the threat of a nuclear war, a young Ukrainian woman is forced to decide between safety and bodily autonomy.

This is an incredible story of Valerii Markus (Valerii Ananiev), a paratrooper of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a veteran of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, a blogger, traveler and author of the bestseller book "Footprints on the Road". To somehow structure in his mind the three years he spent in the war, Valerii Markus leaves Paris for the Way of El Camino de Santiago. But will the paratrooper find peace by following the legendary path of the pilgrims? What changes will Valerii get after all that he has gone through and why is he being drawn to another long journey again and again?

Documentary follows five young Ukrainians from Donetsk suburbs, Luhansk camps, Mariupol block posts, Kharkhiv oligarch estates, and Maidan Square. Amid referendums, elections, and mass propaganda, their diverse backgrounds reveal how a new generation navigates values, dreams, and turmoil in Ukraine’s East–West crisis.

The film is made from home video recordings made by a Ukrainian family in 2002-2008. Like most home videos focusing on children, they convey the feeling of a beginning and perspective - but also of repetitiveness, mundanity, the hum of time. What is our 'together' made of? What connections keep us together? Through vernacular videos from the past, the film seeks to speak (often in baby talk and children's riddles) about plurality, rootedness, about us.

A ruthless story of a loner.

After escaping the russia's occupation, a mother of many children struggles to keep her family together, trying to build a “normal life” on the ruins of a destroyed world — and gradually discovers that normality no longer means peace, but only the ability to go on living, to love, and not to lose herself.

An ironic comedy based on the novel of the same name by Osyp Makovey. For all Ukrainians, Shevchenko is a poet and a prophet. But what would happen if the living Taras Shevchenko came to you and asked for your help? Would you find a place for him at your computer?

Activist Nelia sheltered 15 refugees from Kharkiv in her museum of folk life in the Poltava Region. Nelia teaches Guests local dialect, and traditions, to plant a vegetable garden to feed themselves in the village.

Omega follows a special operations unit led by a commander known as The Artist. After missions behind enemy lines, humour, shared habits, and rituals become what hold them together, allowing them to hold on to one another when returning from the very heart of hell. They are used to being seen as steel-clad “rexes”, and their operations are rarely spoken of out loud. But who is really hiding behind the masks?

Two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lesya Verba, a Brooklyn-based artist and performer, gets through to her older sister in Odessa, Ukraine via FaceTime.

24th February 2022, my boyfriend and I fled Kyiv to go to Irpin. We spent 10 days in a blockaded city and just managed to escape with the last evacuation convoy. Time passed, but the feeling that I died in Irpin has never left me since.

Ukraine. The time of the military Russian invasion. Two Ukrainian soldiers are doing the "routine" work of transporting the bodies of the dead.

Three months of revolution. From indignant protest to national unity. From pots on their heads to batons and body armor. From the euphoria of victory to the mourning of the fallen Heavenly Hundred. Revolution as an explosion of revived dignity, as the euphoria of freedom, as the pain of awareness at the cost, as the birth of the modern history of Ukraine. This year we have decided not to have an opening film, because all our attention is focused on the changes taking place in our country today. We have asked the directors who filmed the Ukrainian protests to share their best shots with us. The episodes of these upcoming films about the Euromaidan were formed in a kaleidoscope of revolution, which needs no comment. We offer you a chronicle of the Ukrainian protest. Experience the three months of fighting with us, feel and see the revolution through our eyes.

After the apocalypse, only one man remains on Earth. He searches for himself and his origins. The woman he meets helps him discover his true nature. However, upon learning the truth about himself, he refuses to continue the human race.

What a strange and interesting life. We are constantly striving to provide for life by working from morning till night. Is this the human happiness that everyone dreams of so much? - the protagonist asked himself every day. Finding a picture of his childhood at home, Robert remembers his dream of becoming a singer that will change his life. Overcoming barriers to a happy future, he truly falls in love. But the dark forces want to take everything, deceiving the guy. What is Robert ready for his dream?

Cossack Maxim and the girl who dressed in men's clothing run from Turkish captivity. On the road, full of adventures and surprises, they have to release the children stolen by evil janissaries. Lovers overcome all obstacles and win.

A boy confesses his love to a girl, but can't say the words.

If a river could speak, it would probably say: «I'm sick of your negligence of a self-proclaimed «lord of nature». You are actually helpless. Fear turns you against one another when the weather forecast mentions a tsunami. This calamity has long been in your heads. What else explains the fact that you're cutting down forests on slopes, which can deter a flood, and draining swamps, which can retain water and regulate climate, and then dying by thousands because of the impact of floods and droughts?

A frank interview with the singer and a visual album: 8 sensual music videos.

Experimental short film with animation and appropriation of amateur footage shot during the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine, recombined into a surreal anti-war film-poem.

To whom does a monk raise a glass? To whom does he read his prayers? When the sun sits down the river, everything becomes gray and it's more difficult to distinguish between white and black and the borderline between them. The monk crosses this line in search of the answer.

In March 2022, after Russian forces occupied the Ukrainian city of Bucha, dozens of civilians were killed on Yablunska Street over the course of three days. Russian authorities later claimed that the footage of the massacre had been staged. However, testimony from survivors indicates that many civilians were not killed accidentally — they were deliberately targeted. Using CCTV recordings, drone footage, and military documents, the Ukrainian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reconstructed a detailed account of the bloodiest days on Yablunska Street and identified some of the officers involved in these crimes.

A gray world filled with black animals, gray everyday life, and damp weather, where suddenly a yellow cat with blue eyes climbs out of its shabby cathouse.

The film covers events related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and consists of interviews with well-known figures from the Ukrainian film and show business industry, in which they talk about how the war has affected their daily and creative lives.

This terrifying film documentary shows candid shots of the victims of hostilities and life in war-torn cities during the Soviet-Ukrainian war.

Completing the paperwork for immigration to Israel, Anya learns that her dad, whom she has not seen for 20 years, is the person who must sign her permit that will allow her a better future.

About the outstanding Ukrainian theater and film actor Mykola Fedorovych Yakovchenko (1900-1974).

Whilst doing research on the Soviet-Afghan War, documentary filmmaker Maryna meets Vyacheslav, an ex-soldier with a unique archive of footage, notes, personal journals and photographs taken by now deceased members of his batallion during the conflict, causing them both to learn about confronting the past and overcoming the horrors of war in the wake of a new Russian agression now threatening Ukraine.

The story of a boy who, after being forced to leave Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, returns home to Zaporizhzhia through his mechanical avatar — a robotic dog he controls from his room in Poland.

This movie consists of 3 stories the author of which is the invented character Scribbler. The film tells about the female part in the male life; about the male destination as of the Creator and about his hidden fears and disappointments. The plot of the movie reminds the mosaic: it gets it full realization in the very end.