On February 14th, a series of events highlighting the creativity and potential of the Ukrainian audiovisual industry will take place as part of the European Film Market (EFM), one of the most important meeting places for the international film and media industry.

The program “Ukraine on Screen: The Social Impact of Cinema” begins at 5:30 p.m. with an overview of the state of the Ukrainian film industry, followed by a pitching session of Ukrainian film projects entitled “Stories That Matter”.

The event offers a platform for discovering new names in Ukrainian cinema. Among the selected works are projects that deal with topics such as cultural identity, historical responsibility, and the effects of political decisions in times of crisis and war on people and nature.

During the meeting, the creators of these projects will present their ideas to representatives of the international film industry, including film funds, members of festival selection committees, film producers, and distributors.

The films that will be presented:

• My Dear Théo
  director Alisa Kovalenko,
  producers Katarzyna Kuczyńska and Oleksandra Kravchenko

• Serge Lifar: Artist’s Case
  director: Mariia Holovatska,
  screenwriter: Anna Lodygina,
  producers: Serhiy Nedzelsky, Vitaliy Sheremetyev,
  Kateryna Skrynska and Marianna Novikova

• The State
  director: Nikon Romanchenko,
  producer: Julia Sinkevych

• Der Fährmann
  director: Pavlo Dorohoy,
  producer: Olha Symonenko

• The Game of Women at War
  director, producers:
  Zlata Veresniak and Yanina Kucher

• In Vacuo
  director: Liza Smith,
  producer: Eugene Rachkovsky

The next part of the program will begin at 6:40 p.m. with a panel discussion “The Power of Cinema: Social Impact and Potential”, which will be attended by leading Ukrainian and international experts.

Preliminary list of speakers:

• Olha Bregman, 2Brave Production, producer of the film Timestamp (Berlinale Competition 2025)

• Oleksiy Radynski, director of the film Special Operation
  (Berlinale Forum Expanded 2025)

• Sten-Kristian Saluveer, Director of the Tallinn Digital Summit and Director of the Cannes Next Marche Du Film Festival de Cannes

• Miriam Carbe, Commissioning Editor, ZDF/Arte

Moderator: Brigid O’Shea, Director of the Documentary Association of Europe

The discussion will focus on the role of storytelling in turbulent times, on the potential of film to raise awareness, inspire action, and foster solidarity across borders.

Free admission is available for all accredited EFM participants (registration is required)

Feb. 14th, 2025
17:30 (5:30p.m.)
Martin-Gropius-Bau
Niederkirchnerstraße 7
10963 Berlin
Business Lounge

The event is organized in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute, the representative office of the Ukrainian Institute in Germany, the Ukrainian Film Festival in Berlin and Media Resources Management with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany.