About us

Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin is organized by the registered association Plivka. Initiative for independent audiovisual art and culture Berlin, aiming to promote Ukrainian cinema worldwide.

Our goal, however, is above all to present the current film landscape in Ukraine, and to explore it together with the audience.

We would like to show high-quality Ukrainian cinema products in cooperation with cinemas and various institutions, with experts and other guests, and make them available for discussion. We strive to familiarize the audience with a multitude of genres and artistic approaches of Ukrainian filmmakers, to talk about the role and perception of

Ukrainian cinema in the German and global context. To carry out exciting projects that will be attractive not only for those interested in Ukraine and Eastern Europe but also for other viewers who are interested in artistic processes and products. 

With Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin we want to create a platform for the discussion of current issues for Ukraine in a European context. We want to hold our film screenings in professionally suitable rooms, give our viewers time, space, and topics for discussions and create an atmosphere of mutual dialogue.

Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin at a glance:

  • Founded in 2020 in Berlin.

  • Takes place annually at the end of October.

  • Four successful festival editions with more than 50,000 international attendees.

  • Thematic film series & numerous screenings of Ukrainian cinema throughout Germany.

  • Cooperation with the most important cultural and film institutions in Ukraine and Germany.

  • Award-winning films, impact documentaries, curated short film programs & retrospective programs.

  • Panels, talks, and Q&A sessions with directors & film experts.

Meet the Team

  • Daria Buteiko

    PROGRAM & INDUSTRY

    Daria is working in academia and at different European film festivals, such as Berlinale and Filmfest Munich. Since 2016, she has been co-organizing screenings of Ukrainian films in Berlin.

  • Valentina Zalevska

    PROGRAM & PRODUCTION

    Valentina has been working in a few international film festivals, mainly for Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz-Art in Ukraine, produced & distributed short films. She is responsible for programming & production.

  • Ivanna Kozak

    PROGRAM & PRODUCTION

    After her studies in Prague and the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris program, Ivanna has been working as film producer in Berlin. In 2020 she co-founded the UFFB and Plivka Initiative and is responsible for festival programming and management.

  • Kateryna Khotkevych

    TECHNICAL COORDINATION

    Kateryna is a software engineer, passionate about the film industry. After visiting major world film festivals in Berlin, Venice, and Cannes, in 2020 Kateryna joined the initiative to run the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin.

  • Mariya Zoryk

    COMMUNICATIONS & PR

    In the last years, Mariya has worked as a program and public relations manager at the short film festival Bamberger Kurzfilmtage, where she has been involved since 2014.
    As a PR manager, she worked for festivals such as Tanzwerkstatt Europa and Tanzplattform Deutschland in Munich and currently for the Ukrainian Institute in Germany.
    In her free time, she talks about her life as a migrant in the podcast "Maria&Mariya," rides a road bike, and takes analog photos.

  • Ivan Paniotov

    ACCOUNTING

    Ivan is a financial specialist and a photographer with 6+ years of professional experience in both fields. At the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin he is responsible for representing all the activities in numbers. In his free time, you can find him in one of the movie theaters in Berlin watching new and classic films.

  • Olena Kukharets

    PARTNERSHIPS & SPONSORING

    Olena is a passionate business development professional with almost a decade of experience in the industry. She specializes in b2b sales, strategic partnerships, project management, and marketing. Currently, she oversees partnerships and sponsors relations at the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin and offers consulting services to clients in the tech industry.

  • Liliia Petryna

    SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

    Lviv-born, Berlin-based marketing specialist with a culture, art & fashion background. Experienced in social media management, she is responsible for our communication strategy. Her biggest passions are skiing, horse riding, visiting museums/galleries, and flea-market treasure hunting.

  • Iryna Zghodko

    SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

    Iryna has worked passionately in Digital Marketing and as a Content Creator for over four years. Born and raised in Kyiv, she now lives in Berlin, where she produces content for the social media accounts of events, festivals, cultural projects, and organizations like Ukrainian NGO Vitsche.
    For the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin, she manages the social media account with creative designs and informative content.
    Her love for aesthetics is reflected in both her work and private life, where she likes to spend time with photography, art, architecture, and culinary experiences.

  • Jana Riemann

    EVENT MANAGEMENT

    Jana is a film programmer and cultural worker. She studied film theory in Berlin and is working as programmer and event manager for various film festivals since 2015. Jana was location manager at Berlinale Palast for 7 years. Currently, she is a part of the selection committee of Berlinale Shorts and program preselector for Docudays UA.

  • Bogdana Bondarenko

    WEBSITE & TECHNICAL STUFF

    Full-stack software developer and UI/UX designer with a great passion for arts and cinema. Born and raised in Kyiv, Bogdana grew up visiting Molodist film festival almost every year. Based in Berlin since 2003, she never missed the Berlinale, and since 2020 also the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin. In 2023, Bogdana joined the UFFB team to help with the web development and to provide assistance with technical solutions.

  • Alina Matochkina

    EVENT DIRECTOR

    Film director, editor and visual artist. Was born in Starobilsk, lived in Kyiv, now based in Berlin.

    Her last film “ADA” actively supported by the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin.

  • Roman Sadovskyi

    GUEST MANAGEMENT

    Roman is a director, teacher of acting and directing. In 2023, he worked as an assistant director at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg. In 2023-2024, he created the documentary series "My War and Me" about Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was the head of the Ukrainian group at the FLIPT theatre festival in Italy and directed the performance "Home". He conducts psychophysical trainings in Berlin and works a lot with Ukrainian youth. Last year he volunteered at UFFB as a guest assistant, and this year he was invited to join the festival team as a guest manager.

  • Gevorg Avetikyan

    VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

    Gevorg is a researcher at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO). He has extensive experience in higher education management and internationalization. Beyond academia, Gevorg is active in the film industry, translating and subtitling Armenian and Persian films, and has worked with the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival. Now based in Berlin, he recently joined the team at the Ukrainian Film Festival. He is passionate about languages, cultures, and fostering international collaboration.

  • Danyil Potopaiev

    GUEST MANAGEMENT

    Danyil, originally from Kyiv, is studying at the Institute for East European Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. Before moving to Germany, he received his bachelor's degree in philosophy in Poland. He participated in the ARTE Track East TV program and worked with cultural institutions. Currently, Danyil is a member of the short film selection committee of the UFFB, where he is also responsible for guest management.

  • Rita Schindler

    EVENT MANAGER

    Rita joined UFFB last year as a volunteer and now continues as part of the event team, managing festival’s main venue - Colosseum. With many years of experience as a creative producer in Ukrainian music industry, she has since transitioned to working on sports events in Germany. Despite this shift, her passion for visual arts remains strong, and she is eager to support Ukrainian cinema. In her free time, Rita loves to immerse herself in mountain-related activities of all kinds, seizing every opportunity to explore the outdoors.