Ukrainian Competition: Selection #1

DRIVING LESSONS // 18 min., Anastasiya Gruba, Ukraine, 2024

Wartime Kyiv, Ukraine. A father helps his daughter to practice driving. They are the only relatives to each other and have a strong connection, but many disagreements in their opinions. The driving lesson ceases to be ordinary when the father is issued a summons at a checkpoint.

HOME IS 1117 KM AWAY // 17 min., Marta Smerechynska, Ukraine, Hungary, 2024

Maria, who was forced to leave Ukraine, looking for a female roommate in Budapest. The talks with potential neighbors about food habits and cleanliness, transition into the conversations about the feeling of home and loneliness. When Ukrainian girls visit Maria, the search for a neighbour turns into an exchange of thoughts and feelings about the traumatic experiences of war and forced displacement.

KYIV CAKE // 22 min., Mykyta Lyskov, Ukraine, Estonia, 2025

The events of the movie unfold in modern Ukraine. A child is born into a poor family, the parents do everything possible to survive, but just when the crisis reaches its peak, a new danger flares up.

BLUEBERRY SUMMER // 19 min., Masha Kondakova, Ukraine, France, 2024

This summer, Ksyusha has to spend it harvesting blueberries in the forest of Kyiv with her mother and sister to earn a living for her family. But she is distracted, waiting for her lover Misha. As they flirt, they go deeper and deeper into the forest, unaware of the danger.

CURFEW // 23 min., Yelyzaveta Toptyhina, Ukraine, 2025

During an expedition, a young photographer miscalculates the time and misses her ride back to the city. At a bus stop, she meets a young man celebrating his birthday. With curfew approaching, the two strangers are forced to spend the night together at a roadside hotel.