The Ukrainian Competition brings together a vibrant mix of short films that really tap into the weirdness of our times. These filmmakers are capturing and portraying a world full of contradictions, where everything feels sharper, and the desire to live fully is stronger than ever. It’s a showcase of eagerness and resilience, offering fresh takes on what it means to navigate through such a surreal moment in history.
Q&A Session with films directors
PRELUDE
Director: Alina Panasenko
Country: Ukraine
Duration: 14
While cruising through the nocturnal streets of Kyiv, Anna, a woman who stops and filming a passing men, unexpectedly encounters a soldier. They are starting to discuss the men she observed.
NIGHT SHIFT
Director: Megumi Lim
Country: Ukraine
Duration: 29
In the still hours of Kharkiv's curfewed nights, a quiet resilience hums through its empty streets. Night Shift is a short film capturing people who work under the cover of darkness, navigating both routine and risk as Russia often attacks when residents try to sleep. Those who stay awake to work do so for the city's survival. The film explores how Ukraine's second largest city has transformed because of war, its collective hope that dawn will arrive quietly, and the human need to carry on.
UNAVAILABLE
Director: Kyrylo Zemlyanyi
Country: Ukraine
Duration: 20
At the beginning of russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, Serhii moved to the west of the country in search of safety. This cold city at the very beginning of spring seems completely alien to him. People there don't seem to notice the changes, which is very paradoxical compared to other regions. Serhii works as a volunteer unloading humanitarian aid trucks and tries to earn some money to help his mother. He lives in an ordinary school gym, like many of the newly arrived refugees. His friends and acquaintances only exacerbate his internal conflict by portraying the war as remote.
CAN YOU HEAR ME?
Director: Anastazja Naumenko
Country: Poland
Duration: 15
Nastia, who has lived abroad for years, starts to teach her mom how to use Internet services. Different perceptions of technology become the starting point for exposing intergenerational conflicts and long-forgotten family threads. Can an intimacy regained via zoom be a turning point for the future relationship between two adults?