FESTIVAL OPENING: Fragments of Ice by Maria Stoianova
Ukraine, Norway | 2024 | Documentary | 95’
with Q&A after the screenings
Maria Stoianova's father was a figure skater with the Soviet-Ukrainian “Ballet on Ice”. In 1986, he bought a camera and began documenting his tours in the West and his family life. The director weaves the nostalgic footage and commentary into a fascinating film essay about the nature of memory and the ability of images to capture it.
SCREENINGS
23.10., 19:00
Doors 18:00
Filmtheater Colosseum - Kino 1
Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin
The Editorial Office by Roman Bondarchuk
Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic | 2023 | 126’
with Q&A after the screening
The young biologist Jura leads a quiet life until he discovers arson while searching for an extinct marmot and tries to uncover the truth. In the process, he gets caught up in an absurd network of media and politics. Roman Bondarchuk's second feature film is a satirical, bizarre mixture of sci-fi and social criticism that, despite all the absurdity, keeps the focus on humanity. Shot before the Russian invasion, the film pays homage to Bondarchuk's home region of Kherson.
SCREENINGS
24.10., 17:45
Filmtheater Colosseum - Kino 2
Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin
A Picture to Remember by Olga Chernykh
Ukraine | 2023 | Documentary | 72’
with Q&A after the screening
A Picture to Remember is an essayistic narrative about the war from the perspective of three generations of women. There are frequent video calls between Chernykh, her mother (a pathologist who works above a morgue where one feels surprisingly safe during the bombings) and her grandmother. Recordings of their conversations are intercut with photos and videos from the family archive and news reports, as well as images of microorganisms that Chernykh's mother observes under a microscope.
SCREENINGS
24.10., 19:00
Sputnik Kino
Hasenheide 54/5th, 10967 Berlin
Short film competition I
with Q&A after the screenings
I DIED IN IRPIN by Anastasiia Falilieva | 11’
BEWARE OF GOOD DOG by Adelina Borets | 26’
VOICE MESSAGES FROM BAKHMUT by Ihor Babaiev | 15’
IN PARIS NO ONE THINKS ABOUT TOMORROW by Andrii Kokura | 14’
DOVECOTS OF KYIV by Mykhailo Volkov | 10’
SCREENINGS
24.10., 19:00
ACUD Kino
Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin
26.10., 18:50
IL Kino
Nansenstraße 22, 12047 Berlin
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors - restored version
PERFORMANCE + FILM SCREENING
“Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” is considered a masterpiece of Ukrainian poetic cinema, in which Sergiy Parajanov captures the visual poetry and folklore of the Hutsuls and breaks the boundaries of traditional filmmaking. Parajanov, a visionary director, was known for his distinctive style and creative rebellion against convention, making him an iconic figure in world cinema.
The UFFB presents a newly restored film copy produced by the Cineteca di Bologna with the support of Martin Scorcese's World Cinema Project foundation. The restoration was completed by L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2024.
SCREENINGS
24.10., 20:00
silent green Kulturquartier
Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin
The Color of Pomegranates - restored version
USSR | 1969 | 77’
This avant-garde film by director Sergiy Parajanov tells the story of the 18th-century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova (Vilen Galstyan). It depicts the stages of his life, particularly his relationships with women, including his muse (Sofiko Chiaureli). Filmed with a static camera, this impressionistic work tells its story through the poet's own verses.
SCREENINGS
24.10., 20:00
SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA
Lindower Str. 20/22/Haus C, 13347 Berlin
Kilometre by Hanna Tykha (Produced by Babylon 13')
Ukraine | 2024 | Documentary | 75’
+ Panel Discussion “Film as an Artistic Practice to Strengthen Social Resilience against Disinformation”
As Russia begins a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, video artist, film director and active member of Babylon'13 team Roman Liubyi attempts to return home to be with his daughter, wife and parents. Roma was working in London when the Ukrainian conflict rapidly escalated with Russia's massive army rolling across the border of his home. He decides to return to his family, whose town soon becomes a battlefield. While they take shelter in basements, cut off from the rest of their country by encircling Russian forces, Roma joins an air intelligence unit, operating drones to locate the whereabouts of the invading force, but also to find those surviving in the most desperate conditions. As the crow flies, Roma is so close to his family, but in reality, the gulf between them is enormous. Hanna Tykha's riveting and profoundly humane film captures Roma's predicament, from his journey home to his attempts to ensure the safety of his family.
SCREENINGS
25.10., 18:00
Kino im Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
Stepne by Maryna Vroda
Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Slovakia | 2023 | 114' | Original Version with English subtitles
Locarno Best Director winner
with Q&A after the screening
Set amidst stunning Ukrainian winter landscapes and emerging feelings of alienation between people in a post-Soviet society, Stepne is the story of Anatoliy, a man who comes back home to take care of his dying mother. A meeting with his brother and a woman he loves makes him reflect on the choices he made along the way. And just before her death, the mother tells Anatoliy about a treasure…
Director’s note
As an artist, I was always interested in the topic of disappearance, departure and parting with something valuable. The silence of past generations about their history made me create this film – as a question of my country's Soviet past.
Maryna Vroda
SCREENINGS
25.10., 18:00 - Kino 2
Filmtheater Colosseum - Kino 2
Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin
Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete by Lana Ghoghoberidze
Georgia / France | 2023 | Documentary | 89’
with Q&A after the screening
Greatness paired with modesty: 93 years old and a daughter, world-famous director Lana remembers her mother Nutsa, Georgia’s first female filmmaker. A cinema legacy that revolves around being human in dark times: feminist, loving, critical of violence.
SCREENINGS
25.10., 18:50
IL Kino
Nansenstraße 22, 12047 Berlin
A Bit of a Stranger by Svitlana Lishchynska
Ukraine | 2024 | Documentary | 90’
with Q&A after the screening
Mariupol-born filmmaker Svitlana's film highlights the experiences of four generations of women, including her own, and shows how Moscow's imperial policies have affected their national identity. Each generation in her family became increasingly Russified. Russia's attack on Ukraine shatters this part of their identities and forces them to find new paths. Svitlana's daughter flees to London, while her mother quietly says goodbye to the Soviet-Russian past. Svitlana herself questions the colonized part of her consciousness.
Watch Trailer
SCREENINGS
26.10., 16:00
Filmtheater Colosseum - Kino 2
Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin
Decolonial Focus: Short film program and panel discussion
In cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education.
EXPLOSIONS NEAR MUSEUM by Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk | 2023 | Short film, documentary | Ukraine | 14'
WHERE RUSSIA ENDS by Oleksiy Radynskyi | 2024 | Short film, Documentary | Ukraine | 25'
Panel discussion on “Disinformation, Colonialism and Decolonization”.
SCREENINGS
26.10., 16:00
Cinema at the Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
Intercepted by Oksana Karpovych
Ukraine | 2024 | Documentary | 95’
+ Panel discussion “Problems of disinformation and dealing with sources”
“Intercepted” explores what drives people to wage war in a foreign country and shows two parallel worlds. The camera captures calm images of destroyed Ukrainian villages and towns after their liberation, where life is slowly returning. These images counter the normalization of horror in the media. The shocking contrast to this is the soundtrack: taped telephone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families from the year 2022, in which confessions of violent crimes and the hate-filled reactions from “back home” are shocking. Images and sound stand side by side in bewilderment.
SCREENINGS
24.10., 18:00
Kino im Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
27.10., 18:50
IL Kino
Nansenstraße 22, 12047 Berlin
Mission 200 by Volodymyr Sydko
Ukraine | 2023 | Documentary | 62’
The film tells the story of a Ukrainian woman who, during the Russian invasion, abandons her travel business and begins transporting the bodies of fallen soldiers. Like the mythological Charon, who ferries souls across the river Styx, she transports the bodies of the fallen.
SCREENINGS
26.10., 18:00
Sputnik Kino
Hasenheide 54/5th, 10967 Berlin
Us, Our Pets and War by Anton Ptushkin
Ukraine | 2024 | Documentary | 79’
A documentary about people and their pets amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
SCREENINGS
25.10., 19:00
Sputnik Kino
Hasenheide 54/5th, 10967 Berlin
27.10., 20:30
Kino im Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
The Basement by Roman Blazhan
Ukraine | 2024 | Documentary | 78’
with Q&A after the screening
Dark rooms, heavy doors. On the left are the names of the murdered, on the right those of the deceased. Children's paintings and prayers, despair echoes off the walls. In March 2022, Russian troops invaded the village of Yahidne. The residents were locked in the basement of the school, packed tightly together, for 27 days. Among them 77 children, the youngest just six weeks old. Too little water, too little air. Some lost hope, others lost their minds. The 51-year-old Olha kept a diary of the time as a testimony in case no one survived. When the Russian soldiers were driven out, the inhabitants rebuilt the village.
SCREENINGS
26.10., 18:15
Filmtheater Colosseum - Kino 2
Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin
Short film competition II
with Q&A after the screening
BOOTS ON THE GROUND, HANDS IN THE SOIL by Karolina Uskakovych | 16’
COMMA by Sonia Leliukh | 4’
WHERE RUSSIA ENDS by Oleksiy Radynskyi | 25’
AS IT WAS by Anastasiia Solonevych & Damian Kocur | 15’
METRO-TRAM by Kateryna Yahodka | 9’
SCREENINGS
26.10., 19:00
ACUD Kino
Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin
27.10., 18:00
Sputnik Kino
Hasenheide 54/5th, 10967 Berlin
Rocky Road to Berlin by Olga Ryashina
Ukraine | 2024 | Feature Film | 104’
A feature-length film based on the story "Me, a Pobeda and Berlin" by the legendary Ukrainian musician Kuzma Scryabin. A comedy-adventure about two friends on a road trip to Berlin, filled with unexpected twists and self-discovery.
SCREENINGS
25.10., 20:30
Kino im Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
26.10., 20:00
City Kino Wedding
Müllerstraße 74, 13349 Berlin
Forever-Forever by Anna Buryachkova
Ukraine | 2023 | 107’
The 1990s in Kyiv: violence, sex and love among Ukrainian teenagers. A fast-paced and exciting film by a director with music video experience.
SCREENINGS
26.10., 19:30
Kino im Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
27.10., 20:00
City Kino Wedding
Müllerstraße 74, 13349 Berlin
Hotel Metalurg by Jeanne Nouchi and George Varsimashvili
Georgia | 2023 | Documentary | 71’
+ Panel Discussion: Georgian Focus
A poignant documentary about refugees in Georgia who have lived in an abandoned luxury hotel for over 30 years, resisting eviction.
SCREENINGS
27.10., 18:30
Kino im Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin
Cultural Heritage
Čvanlive Kurča by Ipolyt Lazarchuk | Ukrainian SSR | 1936
Pozdorovlyayu z perehodom by Їvha Hryhorovyč | Ukrainian SSR | 1932 | 63’
SCREENINGS
27.10., 19:00
ACUD Kino
Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin
Nice Ladies by Mariia Ponomarova: CLOSING CEREMONY AND AWARD CEREMONY (SHORT FILM COMPETITION)
Ukraine, Netherlands | 2024 | Documentary | 84’
with Q&A after the screening
The war in Ukraine threatens the unity of a cheerleading group of women over 50. While one member flees to the Netherlands, others remain in war-torn Kharkiv, struggling to maintain their bond despite the scars of war.
SCREENINGS
27.10., 19:00
Doors 18:00
Filmtheater Colosseum - Kino 1
Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin
Don't be a square! out of competition - short film program
with Q&A after the screening
FROM THE PAST by Hanna Palamarchuk I 1'
NUANCE by Marharyta Voronova & Oleh Kibalnyk | 21’
YA VZHE NE UYIDU NIKUDA (I WON’T GO ANYWHERE) by Heorhii Krasnobryzhev | 18’
THREE BEASTS by Volodymyr Postupnyi | 20’
METALLIC TASTE by Ivan Krupenikov | 20’
UZHHOROD TO THE SHELTER by Oleksandra Horiienko | 8’
SCREENINGS
25.10., 21:15
ACUD Kino
Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin