Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian Short Films of the 90s and 00s

In the first decades of its independence, Ukraine experienced several terrible economic crises and a decline in film production, but at the same time, this period was filled with a spirit of freedom that encouraged reflection and search for both form and content.

In their stories, the authors explored themselves, the world around them, and Kyiv, a city that became an important part of their lives and the protagonist of their films. They showed the capital from different angles: from the gray suburbs and industrial districts to the familiar central streets, which sometimes, with the help of the authors' imagination, led to the otherworld. Traveling around Kyiv day, night and at dawn, the filmmakers captured the history of the city and its inhabitants in their memory and in their films.

For many of them, short films became both their first steps in the profession and almost the only opportunity to make films at that time. At the same time, watching their films today, it is very interesting to observe how the directors who are now the key voices of our cinema reacted to the new socio-political conditions and what tectonic shift took place after the Revolution of Dignity.

Screening duration: 92 min

Curated by: Aliona Penzii and Stanislav Bytiutskyi (Dovzhenko Centre)

The films are screened in original with English subtitles