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
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
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
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
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
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