UFF: Short Films, Block 3

MY BEST FRIEND/HOW I CELEBRATED THE DAY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN KHERSON/VOICE OF WAR/PERCEPTION/TELL ME A FAIRY TALE/TEAR OUT

HERE IS THE CUTEST OTHER

dir. Nastia Horbachova/2026/Ukraine/13'

Description23-year-old Viktoria goes to school for a trial lesson, wanting to live up to her mother's expectations. The headmistress's violent methods towards one of the students force the young teacher to redefine the concept of discipline and choose her own path.MetryczkaGenre: DramaDirector: Nastia HorbachovasScreenwriter: Sophia Kolesnyk, Nastia HorbachovaPictures: Alina ZahoruikoCast: Svitlana Mariychenko, Arina Maksymenko, Oksana Vosana Klodnitskaya, Maryna KlodnitskanaEditing: Nastia HorbachovaProducer: Nadiika MyhorovychLanguage: UkrainianWritings: PolishRegion/year/time: Ukraine/2026/13'

NASTIA HORBACHOVAREwriter, screenwriter and editor, graduate of the Kiev University of Culture. Creator focused on intimate storytelling, themes of identity and family relationships. Author of the award-winning short debut Waria (Varya, 2025).

HOW I CELEBRATED THE DAY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN KHERSON/HOW DID I CELEBRATE THE DAY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN KHERSON

dir. Kateryna Krokha/2024/Ukraine/9'

Description

Portrait of Kherson during the flood caused by the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant by the Russian occupiers, shown from the perspective of a personal presence on the site.

awards

2023 — Wiz-Art Film Festival in Lviv: nomination for Audience Award

2024 — International Film Festival “Dream City” in Rivne: 3rd place in the short documentary film competition in the category “Wounded Earth”

MetricsCategory: DocumentsSeriesSeries, photos, editing: Kateryna Krokha

Producer: Kateryna Krokha

Language: Ukrainian, Russian

Subtitles: polskie

Country/year/time: Ukraine/2024/9'

KATERYNA KROKHAArtist and director from Selydovo, Donetsk region. Operating on the borderline of experimental video, document and text installations, he explores the concepts of home, language and memory as living, evolving entities. Her work grows out of her personal experience of exile and resettlement.

THE SOUND OF WAR

dir. Anna Dubyna/2026/Ukraine/6'

OpisIwan, a war veteran and drummer, turns traumatic memories from the front into a raw, musical performance during an orchestra concert. When the air raid alarm siren interrupts the performance, the line between the past and the present is blurred, and the sound of the threat itself becomes the beginning of a healing rhythm.

Awards2026 — Official Selection for Independent Film Festival “Vilnius Cinema” 2026 — Official Selection at Lachin International Film Festival2026 — Official Selection at Bangladesh University Short Film Festival2026 — Official Selection at Verona International Film Festival

MetryczkaGenre: DramaDirector, screenplay: Anna Dubyna

Cinematographer: Igor Ciupa

Cast: Jakub Pruski

Editing: Tymoteusz Wołowiec

Producer: Maciej Ślesicki

Language, subtitles: dialogue-free

Country/year/time: Ukraine/2026/6'

ANNA DUBYNAborn in 2006 in Kiev, director and former drummer. Since 2023 he lives in Poland, where he studies film directing in Warsaw. She is the author of her debut short film Sounds of War, which tells about war through music and visual form.

PERCEPTION/CHUTTYAREŻ. Mariya Khomutina/2025/20'

Ira takes care of her husband Wowa, a soldier who lost his sight as a result of war wounds. Wowa is unable to accept the new life and only opens up to her comrade at the front, Siri. In spite of everything, Ira and Wowa find a new “language” of love and once again become home to each other.

2026 — Opavský Páv International Student Film Festival (best pictures)

Metric

Genre: DramaDirector, Screenplay, Editing: Mariia KhomutinaProducer: Mariia KhomutinaCast: Mariia Motorna, Roman Yasinovskyi, Andrew FedorukLanguage: UkraineWritings: PolishRegion/Year/Time: Ukraine/2025/20'

MARIIA KHOMUTINA young director from Kiev. In 2025 she graduated from the Institute of Screen Arts of the Kiev National University of Theater, Cinema and Television named after Ivan Karpenki-Kary. Her documentary about the center of hippotherapy and equestrian rehabilitation for the military became one of the laureates of the Ukrainian festival LIFT and participated in international festivals in Germany, Serbia and Bulgaria. The film about Sofia Okuniewska, the first Ukrainian doctor, was presented in London at the Women and the World festival, as well as in France and Italy.

TELL ME A FAIRY TALE/TELL ME A STORY

dir. Diana Anikieieva/2026/Ukraine/22'

The 21-year-old Pavlo, a gay Ukrainian soldier, is becoming a symbol of the visibility of the queer community. Soon his boyfriend Vlad is also recruited into the army — from then on they function together as a public couple. However, distance, jealousy and past traumas gradually put their relationship to the test.

2026 — International LGBTQIA+ Film Festival “Sunny Bunny”, Kyiv: Special Honoration2026 — International Film Festival “Mykolaichuk OPEN”, Kyiv: Special Honoration2026 — Official Selection for the Kiev International Short Film Festival (KISFF)

MetricCategory: DocumentsSeriesSeries, photos: Diana Anikieieva

Editing: Evgeniia Gapon

Producer: Nadia Parfan

Language: Ukrainian

Country/year/time: Ukraine/2026/22'

DIANA AnikieievaDocumentary filmmaker and junior producer at Phalanstery Films. As a producer, she is currently working on the feature documentary Evening School, which has been selected for industry programs on several international film platforms. She is a graduate of the Serhiy Bukowski Documentary Film Program (2025) and a member of the Association of Documentary Creators of Ukraine (DFAU).

WYRWA/VIRVA

dir. Danyil Sekunda/2025/Ukraine/29'

In war-torn Ukraine, Daryna assists a wounded soldier, Sławik, who shows up at her house in Ukrainian uniform. Over time, the behavior of a man raises growing doubts in her. When Daryna discovers that Slavik is actually a Russian soldier, he tries to harm her and deprive her of her life. Showing extraordinary courage and cold blood, the woman resists and takes on an uncompromising struggle for her own survival.

2026 — Best Ukrainian Short Film/MYTH Social Impact Award

MetricsGenre: drama, thrillerSeriesSeries, screenplay: Danyil Sekunda

Photos, editing: Danyil Sekunda

Cast: Tymur Ivakin, Diana Harmash

Producer: Lyudmyla Sekunda

Country/year/time: Ukraine/2025/29'

DANYIL SekundareŻyser, screenwriter and cinematographer from Lviv. He began his creative path in 2005 as a photographer, eventually moving to the world of film. The presented project is his third author's short film, for which he wrote the script himself. Sekunda's work is characterized by a combination of refined visual narration with the emotional depth of the characters.