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From 22 November until 6 December, the Ukrainian Institute London and Cambridge Ukrainian Studies welcome audiences to the 2021 Ukrainian Film Festival, Freedom on Screen. Showcasing a dynamic and diverse selection of documentary and feature films, the festival marks 30 years of Ukraine’s independent statehood by celebrating a spirit of creative freedom in contemporary Ukrainian cinema.
The festival programme features a combination of online and in-person screenings: our digital cinema offers you a curated collection of contemporary Ukrainian films to watch at your leisure anywhere in the UK, while our select in-person screenings and Q&As will take place in cinemas and galleries in London and Cambridge.
The festival is generously supported by the Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The generous financial support of Cambridge Ukrainian Studies allows you to watch all films for free online.
Director: Alina Gorlova
Genre: Documentary Year: 2020 Duration: 102 min
Language: Kurdish / Arabic / Ukrainian / Russian / German with English subtitles
Age rating: 15+
Fleeing the Syrian civil war, Andriy and his Kurdish family start a new life in a small town in eastern Ukraine, only to be caught up in another military conflict. This visually arresting documentary takes a powerful look at humanity’s endless cycle of war and peace.
Between 22 November and 6 December, This Rain Will Never Stop will be available to watch for free online via our film festival web platform.
There will also be an in-person screening at Bertha Dochouse in London on 22 November 2021 at 18:20. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Alina Horlova (via Zoom) and Dr Kamran Matin (Senior Lecturer, Sussex University), hosted by Dr Olesya Khromeychuk (Director of the Ukrainian Institute London).
Director: Antonio Lukich
Genre: Comedy Year: 2019 Duration: 104 min
Language: Ukrainian with English subtitles
Age rating: 12A
Having experienced many setbacks in his professional and personal life, 25-year-Vadym gets a chance to start it all over. Just one task – to record the song of a rare bird that resides in the Carpathian mountains…
Between 22 November and 6 December, My Thoughts Are Silent will be available to watch for free online via our film festival web platform.
We will host an in-person screening at Cine Lumiere in London on 6 December 2021 at 20:35. To celebrate the end of the Ukrainian Film Festival, the screening will be preceded by a drinks reception beginning at 19:30, which is free for all ticketholders. The reception is sponsored by the Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Director: Andrii Lysets’kyi
Genre: Documentary Year: 2021 Duration: 86 min
Language: Ukrainian with English subtitles
Age rating: 12A
This film is a captivating and resplendent documentary portrait of an extraordinary folk artist whose joyous engagement and representation of the world elicit the attention of the cultural elite.
Between 22 November and 6 December, Ivan’s Land will be available to watch for free online via our film festival web platform.
Cambridge Ukrainian Studies will also host an in-person screening in Cambridge on 22 November 2021 at 17:30, marking the film’s UK premiere. Dr Rory Finnin (Associate Professor of Ukrainian Studies) will introduce the film and discuss the work of artist Ivan Prykhodko at historic Kettle’s Yard, the University of Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art gallery.
Director: Nataliya Vorozhbyt
Genre: Drama Year: 2020 Duration: 105 min
Language: Russian & Ukrainian with English subtitles
Age rating: 18+
Four short stories are set along the roads of Donbas during the war. In this world, where tomorrow may never come, not everyone is defenseless and miserable – and even the most innocent victims may have their turn at taking charge.
Between 22 November and 6 December, Bad Roads will be available to watch for free online via our film festival web platform.
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Genre: Drama, thriller, biography Year: 2019 Duration: 116 min
Language: English/Ukrainian/Russian/Welsh
Age rating: 15+
In-person screening at Wimbledon Curzon on 23 November at 20:30.
James Norton stars as Gareth Jones, a Welsh journalist travelling to the Soviet Union on a reporting assignment in the 1930s. Jones escapes his cynical circle of media ex-pats in Moscow and embarks on a secret trip south to Ukraine, following a tip-off about a raging famine. He encounters eerie and haunting scenes of human tragedy but his eye-witness accounts are later dismissed and denied.
Post-screening discussion with Dr Daria Mattingley, University Cambridge. Hosted by Wimbledon Film Club.
£13.00 standard, £6 student, £10 for Friends of Ukrainian Institute London
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 13 November.
