National Short Film Competition and Non-Competitive Section "Ukrainian Premieres": Ukrainian Cinema at "Molodist"

Traditionally, the National Competition of "Molodist" gathers new, relevant, and experimental Ukrainian short films.

The program includes works from both well-known directors and films from emerging filmmakers. Particularly, we will showcase the new film by last year's National Competition winner Nataliya Ilchuk, titled "CLUBBING" ; the winner of the Docudays UA short film competition, "UNDER THE SIGN OF ANCHOR" directed by Taras Spivak and Oleksiy Radynski's film "WHERE RUSSIA ENDS" which has already received several awards at international festivals. The program also features a short film "BEWARE OF A GOOD DOG!" by Adelina Borets Her full-length debut, "FLOWERS OF UKRAINE" is participating in the Documentary Competition this year.

The prize for the best film in the National Short Film Competition is 50,000 UAH accompanied by the "Scythian Deer" statuette.

Films in the National Competition:

Daddy's Little Scratch, Yegor Harmash, 23’
In the Eyes of the Sons, Svyatoslav Kostiuk, 16’
Beware of a Good Dog, Adelina Borets, 26’
Uncle Tolya, Bohdan Adamenko, 18’
Additional Scenes, Roman Khimey, Yarema Malashchuk, 14’
Spooky Loops, Stas Santimov, 4’
Comma, Sonya Leliukh, 4’
The District, Mykola Ridnyi, 20’
Under the Sign of Anchor, Taras Spivak, 30’
Where Russia Ends, Oleksiy Radynskyi, 20’
Explosions near the Museum, Roman Khimey, Yarema Malashchuk, 13’
Stargazing, Nastya Kanareva, 8’
Territory of Childhood, Marina Shkrabaliuk, 22’
Wounds, Lesia Diak, 24’
Storks Always Come Home, Halyna Koziutynska, 24’
Fr/Enemy, Mykola Demchenko, 6’
Here's what I think about all of this, Roman Kolohoyda, 12’
8×sex, Anna Na, 27’
Sony DCR-TRV265E Digital8 Camcorder, Henyk Zaiats, 18’
Clubbing, Natalia Ilchuk, 37’

In the "Ukrainian Premieres" section, unique documentary and feature films dedicated to current events in Ukraine or prominent figures of Ukrainian culture are gathered. The festival will host a premiere of the feature film "MALEVICH" (Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland, 2024). The director, co-writer, and co-producer of the film is Daria Onyshchenko. This film tells the story of the life of the outstanding Ukrainian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich, born in Kyiv.

"What lies behind the Black Square painted in 1915 by the obsessed artist Kazimir Malevich? For competitors, it’s fraud; for Soviet authorities, a secret code; for one woman, a love letter; and for the people of Ukraine, a prophecy…" — the filmmakers comment about their piece.

The film covers several periods of the artist’s life: from the "0-10" exhibition, where a new kind of avant-garde painting, Suprematism, was presented — it is here that Malevich places his legendary "Black Square" in the upper corner of the exhibition hall, just as icons are traditionally placed in Ukrainian homes — to the late period of Malevich's creativity, when he teaches at the Kyiv Art Institute and depicts the horrors of the Holodomor in his paintings.
General producer of the film is Maria Keil.
Concept creator, co-writer, and co-producer is Anna Palenchuk.
Creative producer is Tetyana Filevska.
Co-producers: Claudia Lehmann, Paolo Maria Spina, Miroslav Mogorovich, Eric Holland.

Starring well-known Ukrainian actors Vitalii Azhnov, Oleksiy Horbunov, Irma Vitovska, Maryna Koshkina, and others.Filming was completed during the full-scale invasion.
The film was created with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency.

The first Ukrainian screening of the documentary film "DEAR BEAUTIFUL BELOVED" by director Yurii Rechynskyi will be a part of this year's festival. The world premiere happened at the prestigious film festival in Locarno. The film documents the evacuation of living people as well as the bodies of the deceased from the combat zone. Rechynskyi's film "SICKFUCKPEOPLE" advocating the topic of homelessness had won major awards at film festivals in Sarajevo and Raindance in London in 2013, with the national premiere taking place at "Molodist." However, most Ukrainian audiences know the director for his feature film "UGLY" which premiered in Rotterdam, was shown at the Odesa International Film Festival, and had a limited distribution. In 2022, his full-length documentary "SIGNS OF WAR" was screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival, DOK Leipzig, Hot Docs, and others.

Viewers can also look forward to the festival premiere of the documentary film "IZOLYATSIA" directed by Igor Minayev. The film tells the story of a Soviet factory in Donetsk that became the art center "Izolyatsia" in the 2000s, and transformed into a torture chamber with the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war. It serves as a documentary testimony to the process of dehumanization.

The factory in Donetsk ceased to exist after the collapse of the USSR. In 2010, a contemporary art center, "Izolyatsia" was established there. This art space was unique not only for its region but for all of Ukraine. However, in 2014, pro-Russian collaborators destroyed the center, blowing up its unique installations and filming their act of vandalism. Later, the cellars of the destroyed art center became torture chambers. Survivors of that hell share their stories, including writer Stanislav Aseyev, who recounts his unbearable two years in captivity. He also describes his experience in his book "The Bright Path.

The filmmakers believe that war criminals must be brought before an international tribunal, as what has happened and continues to happen in Ukraine could occur anywhere.
The project was created for Suspilne Media by "Trempel Films," the winner of an art competition under a grant from the U.S. Department of State.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the outstanding Ukrainian and Armenian director Sergei Parajanov (Sarkis Parajanyan), the national premiere of the film
"A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY TO THE PARAJANOV PLANET" will take place. The film was directed by Taras Tomenko, with producers Pylyp Illienko, Andriy Ryzyvaniuk, Lukian Halkin, and Aliona Holiakova. The film is based on unique archival materials, combined with surreal puppet scenes. It was produced for Suspilne Media by "Illienko Film Productions." The international premiere will take place in the documentary competition program of the Warsaw Film Festival, which is an A-class festival.

* The film was created with financial support from the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of Suspilne Media and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Another documentary film in the non-competitive program is "ANTARCTICA: WAR DIARIES" This unique film documents the first Arctic Ukrainian expedition during the full-scale invasion, filmed by one of its participants. It is the feature directorial debut of Volodymyr Khomko. Documentarist Dmytro Hreshko served as the creative producer for the first time. The producers include Polina Herman, Matias Mario Contini, Jonathan Dontchev, and Tasia Puhach.

The Ukrainian-Polish co-production film "BOUQUINISTES" directed by Tetiana Hanzha and produced by Mirosław Dembiński tells the story of Kyiv booksellers who spent years collecting and saving books from landfills. However, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine begins, they face the question of what to do with the Russian imperialist legacy and their own past.

Films of the "Ukrainian Premieres" Program:

Malevich, Daria Onyshchenko, Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland, 2024, 90’
Dear Beautiful Beloved, Yurii Rechynskyi, Austria, 2024, 93’
Izolyatsia, Igor Minayev, Ukraine, 2024, 83’
Antarctica: War Diaries, Volodymyr Khomko, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Switzerland, USA, 2024, 82’
Bouquinistes, Tetiana Hanzha, Ukraine, Poland, 2024, 50’