The eighth edition of the Ukrainian Film Week returns to Prague and Brno this November, highlighting the vitality and courage of Ukrainian cinema created during wartime. Running from Nov. 11-17 at Kino Atlas in Prague, the festival will present a selection of recent fiction and documentary films that explore themes of survival, love, and memory amid ongoing conflict.
Despite the hardships of war, Ukraine’s filmmakers continue to create vivid, human stories that speak to both personal and collective experience. “They risk their lives to capture reality without a script,” said Lenka Víchová, festival dramaturge and Ukrainian studies scholar. “This year again, we open with a documentary because war is the reason we do this.”
The festival is organized by RUTA, z.s., in collaboration with the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic, and several cultural partners. Following its Prague screenings, the festival will move to Brno’s Kino Art from Dec. 2 to 7.
Films that document courage and loss
Opening the festival is 2000 Meters to Andriivka (pictured at top) by Academy Award–winning filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, which takes audiences to the frontlines of the 2023 counteroffensive. The documentary, which won the Best Director Award in the World Cinema Documentary section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows Ukrainian soldiers fighting to liberate a small village near Bakhmut.
The program continues with Grey Bees, a drama by Dmytro Moiseiev adapted from the novel by Andriy Kurkov. Set in the “gray zone” of Donbas, it depicts two men who remain in their deserted village, attempting to live ordinary lives under the constant shadow of war. Their quiet resilience becomes a powerful metaphor for isolation and endurance.
Malevych, directed by Daria Onyshchenko, delves into the life and art of avant-garde painter Kazymyr Malevych. The film, an international co-production involving Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, and Switzerland, examines how Malevych’s Black Square became both an artistic and political statement about freedom under oppression.
Also screening is Stepne by Maryna Vroda, a contemplative drama about a man returning home to care for his dying mother. Set against a wintry landscape, the film is a meditation on memory and reconciliation. It received the Best Director and FIPRESCI awards at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival.
Other titles include Dzhura the King’s Son, a family fantasy reviving Cossack legends through a modern lens; The Mouse Trap, a psychological thriller by Serhiy Kastornykh; and Doggies, a surreal comedy by Oleksiy Yesakov in which a woman’s lovers begin turning into dogs—a darkly humorous take on love and absurdity in wartime.
Cinema as testimony and connection
The festival also features documentary Timestamp by Kateryna Hornostai, co-produced with Luxembourg, France, and the Netherlands. Set in a school near the front, it captures the routines of teachers and children through silent observation, revealing the quiet endurance of everyday life in wartime.
Closing the festival is Honeymoon by Zhanna Ozirna, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024. The film follows newlyweds trapped in their apartment as Russia’s invasion begins, turning their domestic space into both a shelter and a prison.
Festival organizers emphasize that these films stand as cultural resistance as much as artistic expression. “Through these stories, we show the image of our nation—our defenders and artists who protect the free world and free thought,” said Jaryna Yasynevych, program director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
Many of the films were made through international co-productions, underscoring ongoing collaboration between Ukraine and European partners. According to the festival team, this cooperation demonstrates that the world has not turned away from Ukrainian culture despite the hardships of war.
Tickets and the full Prague program are available at the Kino Atlas website.
