World Premiere and Directorial Debut: Two Ukrainian Films to Be Featured at the 2024 Venice Film Festival

Among the most anticipated premieres of the 81st Venice Film Festival are The Joker by Todd Phillips and Maria Callas' biopic Maria with Angelina Jolie, ‘Luca Guadagnino's Queer with Daniel Craig, the world premiere of Olga Zhurba's documentary Songs of a Slowly Burning Land and the debut work of the director, screenwriter and journalist Zhanna Ozirna, Honeymoon. 

Olga Zhurba's film depicts scenes from life in Ukraine during the first two years of the full-scale invasion. According to the director, the film shows ‘changes in a society that goes from the panic of the first weeks of the great war to acceptance of death and destruction, which eventually become the tragic norm for Ukrainians’.

 ‘We started filming from the first days of the great war,’ says Olha Zhurba, ’I realised that it was my duty to document what was happening to us. There is an understanding that this will be especially necessary for future generations. This is one of the ‘letters’ to the future that I hope will reach and be read.’

Olha Zhurba is one of the most successful Ukrainian documentary filmmakers. Her first film Daddy's Shoes premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2021. ‘Songs of a Slowly Burning Land is her third film and will be screened in the Non Fiction programme.

‘Honeymoon is the debut feature by director, screenwriter and journalist Zhanna Ozirna, which will be screened in the Bienalle College Cinema programme. The film tells the story of a couple who find themselves under occupation. This film is a study of their relationship, their fears, and their true understanding of each other. The main roles in Honeymoon are played by actors Iryna Nirsha and Roman Lutskyi.

‘We have long and carefully selected this incredible tandem, because the film focuses on them, on their love story and personal dramas,’ the film's authors say.