Ukrainische Filmtage
Displaced Selves

Displaced Selves

The recent Ukrainian films—award-winners on the international festival circuit, bold works of auteur-driven cinema—carve out a space for shared reflection, one that transcends borders, languages, and histories. In a time of war and upheaval, they do not merely bear witness. They trace the fragile, shape-shifting nature of identity—how it is fractured and reshaped, not only by conflict but through past, memory, intimacy, and the quiet rituals of the everyday. And though rooted in Ukraine, these questions—who we are, where we are heading—resonate far beyond. They echo in Slovakia, in Germany, across Europe, in all places where history bends and identities remain in flux. 

In Fragile Memory, a filmmaker uncovers his grandfather’s forgotten film archive as Alzheimer’s erases his past. Two additional films extend the theme of displaced selves to collective and political terrains. In The Most Beautiful Corner in the World (Slovakia, 2022) by Robert Mihály, a fictional Ukrainian reporter travels across Slovakia, confronting people with questions about nationalism and belonging. In I Died in Irpin (Ukraine/Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2024) by Anastasiia Falileieva, the experience of fleeing war becomes a haunting animated testimony — tracing how violence, memory, and survival shape both personal and collective identity. Fragments of Ice dives into a childhood caught between Soviet reality and Western imagery, using home videos as a mirror. A Bit of a Stranger looks at four generations of women navigating the impact of Russification and war on their personal histories. In Nice Ladies, a cheerleading team of women over 50 stays connected despite displacement, showing strength through joy and movement.

For younger audiences, Us, Our Pets and the War is a moving portrait of civilians rescuing animals — a reminder of the human need for compassion, even in crisis. These films were chosen for a Slovak audience because they resonate deeply with Ukrainian historical experiences of occupation, erasure, and the search for self-definition — both personal and collective. From the lingering legacy of Soviet influence to the intimacy of family archives, from forced migration to resilience through sport and community, these films echo struggles and solidarities that are not only Ukrainian, but Central European. These films invite reflection on shared post-Soviet histories and the ongoing search for self and belonging in uncertain times. 

How do we remember who we are — and who we want to become — in times of upheaval?

Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin

14.5.2025, 18:00
Fragments of Ice

Ukraine, Norwegen, 2024, 95 Min.
Regie: Maria Stoianova
Original mit slowakischen und englischen Untertiteln

Der Vater von Maria Stoianova, Eiskunstläuferin beim ukrainischen „Ballett auf dem Eis“, erwarb 1986, im Jahr der Geburt der Filmemacherin, seine erste Kamera. In den beeindruckenden Archiven, aus denen der Film besteht, verflechten sich zwei Welten: ihre Kindheit in der sowjetischen Ukraine und die üppige, kapitalistische Außenwelt im Rhythmus der Eiskunstlaufvorführungen. Ein faszinierender und subtiler politischer Film.


 

 

15.5.2025, 17:30
The Most Beautiful Corner in the World

The most beautiful corner in the world

Slowakei, 2022, 25 min
Regie: Robo Mihály
Original mit slowakischen und englischen Untertiteln

Der Dokumentarfilm versucht, der heutigen slowakischen Gesellschaft einen Spiegel vorzuhalten, indem er auf die Unfähigkeit hinweist, über Sprache und Geschichte zu reflektieren, was zur Gefahr eines neuen Autoritarismus führt. Die Hauptfigur ist ein ukrainischer Redakteur, der bei einem Casting ausgewählt wird und anschließend verschiedene Veranstaltungen besucht, um die slowakische gesellschaftliche Realität zu verstehen. Dies geschieht vor dem Hintergrund des andauernden Krieges in der Ukraine, der, obwohl er nur irgendwo im Hintergrund stattfindet, die Stimmung, die Sprache und neue Formen des Populismus spürbar beeinflusst. 

Fragile Memory

Ukraine, Slowakei 2022, 85 min
Regie: Igor Ivanko 
Original mit slowakischen Untertiteln

In den 1960er Jahren arbeitete der sowjetische Kameramann Leonid Burlaka für das „Odessa Cinema Studio“ in seiner Heimatstadt Odessa in der ehemaligen Ukrainischen Sozialistischen Sowjetrepublik an Filmen, die um die Welt gingen. In seinen achtziger Jahren wurde bei ihm Alzheimer diagnostiziert; sein Gedächtnis lässt zusehends nach. Der Filmemacher Igor Ivanko folgt den Spuren seines Großvaters und entdeckt in dessen Garage ein Archiv von unschätzbarem Wert.

 

15.5.2025, 20:30
Nice Ladies 

Nice Ladies

Niederlande, Ukraine, 2024, 92 Min
Regie: Mariia Ponomarova
Original mit slowakischen und englischen Untertiteln

Inmitten des eskalierenden Krieges Russlands gegen die Ukraine wird das Cheerleader-Team „Nice Ladies“, das sich aus Frauen über 50 zusammensetzt, auf eine harte Probe gestellt. Teammitglied Sveta flieht mit ihrer Familie in die Niederlande, während ihre Freundinnen Valia und Nadia in Charkiw bleiben. Der Film zeigt, wie der Krieg alles durchdringt, doch der Sport und ihre Schwesternschaft verbinden sie weiterhin.

Vorstellungsbeginn: 9:00
Die Filme sind wortlos, so dass es keine Sprachbarriere gibt. Das Programm umfasst 11 Kurzfilme und dauert etwa eine Stunde.

Imagination 

09:21 | 2013
Kateryna Chepik
This film portrays a child's fantasy - naïve and absurd. A girl gets too excited while playing in her room and suddenly finds herself in a world made of paper and plasticine.

The Gum 

Olha Makarchuk
07:41 | 2013
The Gum is an outcast, constantly neglected and forced to fit into circumstances. Until a random acquaintance with another rejected soul mate, a plastic bag, makes him dream of something bigger. Coming of age story of bubble gum…

Forest Song

Andriy Naumenko
02:00 | 2019
This film is about what people are focusing on and what they sometimes miss.

CatnBat-Evolution

Sashko Danylenko, Valeriy Lifirenko
02:22 | 2021
Cat and Bat are best friends. Every day they watch TV, get inspired by what they see and start fooling around. Every story involving them reveals the painful truth about human nature.

The Bridge to the City 

Klym Klymchuk
04:00 | 2021
Once upon a time the small bridge perched near a small town. A lot has changed since then, but the bridge remembers old times and can tell us about it.

Here by Herself

Anna Dudko
05:06 | 2019
The story of what a child feels when she gets lost in a big city.

Promise

Iryna Harkavets
02:30 | 2020
This is a very personal story about how much everything is connected — about the relationship between children and parents, ecological education, and the responsibility we hold both in our interactions with people and with nature.

Love Photosynthesis

Alisa Zolonz
04:00 | 2024
Within the microscopic realm of a leaf, Water embarks on an improbable love story with Chloroplast with the duo struggle to overcome their differences. Battling to unify it triggers a transformative journey for the pair, and others around them. 

The War that Changed Rondo

Olha Havrylova
15:00 | 2020
“The War That Changed Rondo” is an animated film based on the book of the same name, showing that war has no heart and doesn’t understand any language—yet it affects everyone and leaves deep scars. But if we build a machine of light together and learn to sing despite everything, even the most fragile beings can survive and overcome. This story offers an opportunity for a thoughtful conversation with children—or even with oneself—about what is happening now in the country or elsewhere in the world, told through a magical narrative that always leaves space for hope and optimism.

Troia

Andrey Naumenko
02:34 | 2022
TROЯ (Troia) – these are episodes of everyday life in the sleeping district of Kyiv called "Troieshchyna". I was born here, grew up here, and still live here. This is the place where you learn that clothes don’t make the man, and events can take unexpected turns.

The End

Mykyta Lyskov
10:57 | 2016
Short stories about the end of the world.