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Fourteen Ukrainian short films produced over the recent years competed for a prize within the first edition of the uFilmFest – first International Short Film Festival that took place in Kyiv on 12-13 February.
Most of the Ukrainian film directors whose films were in competition are recent graduates or young professionals. They managed to deliver a high-quality product both from the artistic and technical standpoint. Most of the films are self-financed or with support of private-sector resources. Many stories are set against the social background even if the latter is not always emphasized. Ukrainian bloc of films evoked lively interest by Ukrainian public – on the second festival day more viewers came to see the Ukrainian bloc than the international one.
EMPR’s choice: we picked five Ukrainian short films out of the selection that are must-see.
Somnambulists
Directed by Maryna Gryshai
A 12-minute beautifully shot feature film that without a single word manages to depict what appears to be an ordinary life of a young worker. His world changes at night when he wanders the streets in somnambulistic state. “Our film was shot at our own expense,” said the film director Maryna Gryshai earlier at a press conference presenting her work. “It is the third work of our team. With our works we travel quite a lot from festival to festival and are extremely happy to present it in Ukraine.”
People Planet
Directed by Stanislava Doronchenko
The documentary was shot over three months by Stanislava Doronchenko, student of the Karpenko-Kary film institute who combined the roles of the film director, director of photography and of the editor. The film is set in the zoo, the audience has a chance to look at the situation from both the animal and human sides. “Who is who among us? How much do we have in common? And who is actually observing us?” are some of the questions the author puts.
Film info
Oleksiy Koval
Directed by Andriy Pavlyuk
The documentary takes a look at the unique artistic technique of enamel artist Oleksiy Koval, shows his inspiration source ranging from Indian to ancient Ukrainian ornaments. “In Ukraine there are many outstanding people that need to be known,” said film director Andriy Pavlyuk at a press conference. “Oleksiy Koval is well-known in Switzerland, in the U.S., in Ukraine I think he lacks attention.”
Film info
Guide
Directed by Andriy Kuchmiy
Simple and clear-cut story of this feature film is unfolding without a word. A man gets lost in winter-time woods and we see him losing strength and faith until one day he gets hope. “We tried to reflect on human values and show that our values guide us,” said the film director Andriy Kuchmiy speaking at a presser. “The film budget is the cumulative budget of our team, it does not exceed UAH 2,000,” he added.
Island
Directed by Nikita Tymoshchuk
A four-minute animation film that is simple in terms of visual means and metaphoric in terms of the narration. There is an island where everyone lives happily and life is harmonious and no enemy is able to conquer it. The film director Nikita Tymoshchuk is 16 now, he made his short when he was 14. He is a student at the Kyiv Physics and Mathematics Lyceum.
Photo credit: uFilmFest
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kyiv uFilmFest