Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin

UFFB 2026

Ukrainian
Film
Festival
Berlin

Edition7th Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin

Dates14 – 18 October 2026

LocationBerlin, Germany

The 7th Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin took place from 14–18 October 2026 under the theme “Emergency Spaces”. The festival presented the latest contemporary films from Ukraine alongside curated thematic programmes and retrospectives.

“In recent years, one crisis has followed another, making the reality we once knew seem increasingly distant and difficult to grasp. This is precisely why spaces of refuge and solidarity have become so important: they offer room for reflection and open up new perspectives for the future.”

— Daria Buteiko, Festival Co-Founder

Short Film Competition 2026

The UFFB Short Film Competition showcases the most exciting emerging voices in Ukrainian cinema. Each year an international jury selects from a curated programme of short films — fiction, documentary, and animation.

Awards

Best Short Film

€1,000, awarded by jury

Mind Your Step

Directed by Alina Milkina | Netherlands · 2026 · 5'

This film takes us into current Ukrainian reality, with the Russian-Ukrainian war and everyday life that goes on in spite of everything. But at its heart, the film is a profound exploration of fear.

War is a terrifying force that uses fear to break everything in its path. But this picture reminds us that no matter how strong fear is, we are capable of standing up to it. It shows us that even in the darkest times, imagination, memory, and love can actually win.

The subway becomes a space where people manage to remain human. And perhaps, keeping our humanity is the greatest victory of this incredibly inspiring film.

The award for Best Short Film goes to "Mind Your Step" by Alina Milkina!

About the film

A middle-age woman Tamara works as a metro and train station cleaner, having emigrated from her home in search of a better life. Working in a position seen by society as a low class job, Tamara exists in the invisibility of the railway space, performing her duties without any kind of interaction with those passing by. Her daily routine is interspersed with memories of a past life that was filled with emotions, people and, especially, dancing. One day, something changes in her and she dances in front of people in a subway car, taking off her mask of invisibility, disturbing people who finally notice her, breaking subjective social norms, and liberating herself.

Special Mention

I Am a Rock

Directed by Teta Tsybulnyk | Estonia / Ukraine · 2026 · 5'

The jury’s special mention goes to a film that made a daring move toward a new form. Its subtle irony and minimalist, stylish solution impressed us. The director managed to create and sustain a tension between image and text throughout the film. Its protagonist is very unusual, and by returning agency to nature, the film lets us see the world from a different perspective, if only for a few minutes. We now know that even a rock can doubt and sing rock songs.

The Jury Special Mention award goes to I Am a Rock by Teta Tsybulnyk.

About the film

Hiiumaa Island, Estonia. About 455 million years ago, a meteorite fell here, forming a crater 4 kilometers in diameter. This event is now represented by a landmark, a 1:100 scale model field of the Kärdla meteorite crater. In the middle of the field, there is a rock — or perhaps two rocks? One is an object of the speechless wilderness: a rock is a rock is a rock. The other is a signifier, an agent of the symbolic domain that participates in language and claims to be a meteorite. Playing with Magritte's "The Treachery of Images" and a song by Simon & Garfunkel, the work delves into the paradoxical relationship between nature, language, and representation.

Pluto Film Audience Design Consultancy Award

€1,500 consultation, sponsored by Pluto Film

Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow

Directed by Anastasiia Bonadyha | Czech Republic / Ukraine · 2025 · 20'

For its sincere and tender portrayal of people living through dark times, and for finding beauty, lightness, and joy in the everyday. Filled with love, warmth, and playfulness, the film stands out in today’s Ukrainian documentary landscape. The jury would also like to highlight the director’s distinctive perspective on the protagonist and the city of Nikopol, offering an intimate and deeply human portrait of both.

The Pluto Prize goes to „Apocalypse Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow“ von Anastasiya Bonadyga.

About the film

Through the story of Bohdan, an ordinary man living in Nikopol, the director explores why some people choose to stay in their homeland even when every day might be their last. Bohdan's quiet strength lies in his unwavering faith and ability to find meaning in life, no matter what challenges each new day brings. The film contemplates humanity, resilience, and belief in the face of an unfolding apocalypse.

Jury 2026

Anna
Onufriienko

Olga
Chernykh

Stas
Zhyrkov

Programme 2026

Opening & Closing

Festival Opening, Oct. 14th, 2026 2026

The Illusion of a Quiet Night

14 October 2026

The Illusion of a Quiet Night

Wed, 14 Oct 2026, 18:30 · Followed by Q&A CineStar Kino in der Kulturbrauerei – Cinema 3, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin

Category: Main Program
Genre: Documentary
Country: Ukraine
Year: 2026
Director: Olga Chernykh
Duration: 70 min
Language: Ukrainian with English subtitles

Filmed during a single night in July 2025 by forty filmmakers and hundreds of citizens across Ukraine, The Illusion of a Quiet Night paints a vast collective portrait of a nation living with war — between fear, exhaustion and fleeting moments of joy.

Sold Out Read more

Festival Closing & Award Ceremony, Oct. 18th, 2026 2026

Don’t Ask Me If I Killed

18 October 2026

Don’t Ask Me If I Killed

Sun, 18 Oct 2026, 18:30 · Followed by Q&A CineStar Kino in der Kulturbrauerei – Cinema 4, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin

Category: Main Program
Genre: Documentary
Country: Ukraine, Romania, Germany, The Netherlands
Year: 2026
Director: Helena Maksyom
Duration: 104 min
Language: Ukrainian with English subtitles

A Ukrainian documentary filmmaker puts down her camera to pick up a rifle — and later both — filming the moral ordeal of ordinary people forced to kill.

Sold Out Read more

UFFB 2026

Festival Trailer & Teaser

Trailer

Programme 2026

Featured Films

Full Programme

Main Program

To the Victory!

Valentyn Vasyanovych · 105'

In a near future where the war has ended, a washed-up film director clings to the belief that things will get better — eventually, probably, maybe.

Past Thu, 15 Oct 2026, 21:00

Kino & Bar in der Königstadt

Straßburger Str. 55, 10405 Berlin

Past Sat, 17 Oct 2026, 19:00

IL Kino

Nansenstraße 22, 12047 Berlin

Main Program

Where Everything Disappears

Oleksandr Tkachenko · 88'

A nature-loving cinematographer turned soldier keeps his camera running while fighting to preserve his humanity in war.

Past Thu, 15 Oct 2026, 19:00 + Q&A

ACUD Kino

Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin

Past Fri, 16 Oct 2026, 18:00 + Q&A

Filmkunst 66

Bleibtreustraße 12, 10623 Berlin

Ukraine Known Unknown

Birds and Beasts. The Universe of Hnizdovsky

Nadia Parfan · 70'

A whimsical documentary about Ukrainian American artist Jacques Hnizdovsky, told through the eyes of his cat retracing his life across continents.

Past Fri, 16 Oct 2026, 21:00 + Q&A

Kino & Bar in der Königstadt

Straßburger Str. 55, 10405 Berlin

Past Sat, 17 Oct 2026, 18:00 + Q&A

Sputnik Kino

Hasenheide 54, 5. Etage, 10967 Berlin

Special Program

Donbas on Screen: Rethinking History, Memory, and War

The program examines how the image and myth of the Donbas were shaped and transformed in Ukrainian cinema during the first half of the 20th century. This retrospective helps bridge the gap between avant-garde enthusiasm for industrialization and a critical reflection on the Soviet legacy—from World War II to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. These films invite viewers to see the Donbas not as a periphery or a "gray zone," but as an integral part of Ukrainian history, culture, and the broader European experience.

Special Program

Donbas on Screen: I Love

Leonid Lukov · 74'

Long ago, Ostap's father left a poverty-stricken village to seek work in the Donbas region. The house built by Nikanor laid the foundation for the mining settlement of Sobacheyevka. Ostap followed in his father's footsteps, working thirty years for the mine owner. But when his father was dismissed, Ostap realized it was pointless to blame management alone for their hardship. Upon meeting the revolutionary worker Harbuz (Aleksandr Antonov), he becomes one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement among the Donbas miners.

Past Sat, 17 Oct 2026, 17:00

Kino im Planetarium

Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin