Four Ukrainian Films to Be Showcased at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film events in Central and Eastern Europe, will spotlight four Ukrainian films this year, offering global audiences an unflinching look at the human, environmental, and emotional toll of Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

The festival runs from July 4 to 12 in the Czech Republic.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukraine’s State Film Agency.

One of the standout selections is “Divia,” a powerful documentary by Dmytro Hreshko, which will compete in the Crystal Globe Competition, the festival’s main section. 

Co-produced by Poland, Ukraine, and the Netherlands, the film captures the devastation caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion, scorched forests, flooded towns, and rusting remains of military vehicles. 

Among the most haunting scenes are those depicting the flooded Kherson region following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, as residents and rescuers attempt to save wildlife and assess the catastrophic damage.

In the Horizonty section, audiences will see two more Ukrainian documentaries.”2,000 Meters to Andriivka” by Mstyslav Chernov, a joint Ukrainian-American production, offers an immersive account of the liberation of Andriivka, a village near Bakhmut, by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade. 

Also featured in this section is “The Ribbon of Time” by Kateryna Gornostai, co-produced by Ukraine, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. 

The film intimately portrays the lives of teachers and students in wartime Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Borodianka, and Bucha. 

Meanwhile, in the Pragueshorts at KVIF category, Ukrainian director Anastasiia Faliileieva presents the animated short “I Died in Irpin,” co-produced with Czechia and Slovakia. 

Through fragmented memories and suppressed trauma, the film follows a couple who leaves Kyiv for Irpin to visit family on the first day of the full-scale invasion – a seemingly mundane decision that becomes a harrowing journey of survival and loss.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most respected film festivals in Central and Eastern Europe. Since 1956, it has held Class A status, placing it alongside Cannes, Berlin, and Venice on the international film circuit.