Competition Programme: Ukrainian Animation

In support of Ukraine, we invite you to come and discover the Ukrainian animation industry and its creators! For this year’s festival, we have selected the most interesting short animated films by Ukrainian creators and put together a competition programme, with the winner being selected by an international jury.

Ach So
Ach So #

2022 / Ukraine / 2 min 2 s

I rent a very small room in Berlin (which reminds me of a coffin). There, I have very strange dreams. In them, people are held in suspense for two years without knowing when it will all be over. The club is closed, the ambulance won’t come and all that’s left to do is to walk around the city with your inner demons.

Directed by Polina Piddubna Screenwriter: Polina Piddubna Producers: - Company: -

Awkward
Awkward #

2020 / Ukraine / 3 min 45 s

A day full of socially awkward moments.

Directed by Nata Metlukh Screenwriter: Nata Metlukh Producer: Nata Metlukh

Empathy
Empathy #

2020 / Ukraine / 8 min 3 s

A young man carrying a ruined brick house on his head is forced to live in a society where it is forbidden to have ruins on one's head. He carefully hides his defect beneath a tall hat, and finds his only consolation in his beloved. But one day, through a terrible coincidence, his secret is revealed. The house, which he so lovingly guarded, is revealed – and is threatened with demolition...

Directed by Mariya Sapatova Screenwriter: Mariya Sapatova Producers: Olena Golubieva, Kseniya Yefanova Company: Chervony Sobaka Animation Studio

The Responsible Hero
The Responsible Hero #

2021 / Ukraine / 4 min 53 s

A tragicomedic story about a rescue attempt and its consequences, based on and inspired mostly by the cheesy yet charming Superman movies of the 70s and 80s. However, this straightforward story, with its cheerful and somewhat nostalgic atmosphere, takes a sudden and grim twist.

Directed by Roman Lysenko Screenwriter: Roman Lysenko Producer: Roman Lysenko Company: Amheus

Regular
Regular #

2022 / Ukraine / 5 min 0 s

Fonts are human characters living in a graphic design world, each of whom has unique properties: Bold makes everything thicker, Italic tilts things, etc. They team up to build a garden, and the five boxing wizards jump in quickly to inspect their work. A negative space storm flushes everything away, but Regular comes and fixes the garden.

Directed by Nata Metlukh Screenwriter: Nata Metlukh Producers: Nata Metlukh

Slowny
Slowny #

2021 / Ukraine / 10 min 0 s

Slowny are not elephants. They are fairy creatures, who live happily by the shores of the Crystal Sea. Slowny wear white stockings and hats (even in bed), adore cocoa, and know about art and music. Their name means “slow”, because these bizarre personalities are never in a hurry. In fact, they are somewhat like us, because we all have a little bit of slowny in us.

Directed by Oleh Fedchenko Screenwriter: Ihor Shurov Producer: Yuliia Radostina Company: "Dva Vovky" in collaboration with "Film Company 2016"

The Surrogate
The Surrogate #

2020 / Ukraine / 6 min 3 s

A man destroys the nest of an unknown and creepy creature. But it's not the most horrible creature he will meet tonight.

Directed by Stas Santimov Screenwriter: Stas Santimov Producer: Stas Santimov

Unnecessary things
Unnecessary things #

2020 / Ukraine / 14 min 0 s

Could a robot adopt a pet in the near future? Sure, why not. Could this pet be a human? Well, that might become possible in the future. Could they become friends? Probably, yes. …And what would become of the robot afterwards? Listen, to hell with your questions!

Directed by Dmytro Lisenbart Screenwriters: Dmytro Lisenbart, Andriy Rushkovsky, Valeriy Pugashkin Producer: Vitalii Khalo Company: Marcus Film Ltd

The War That Changed Rondo
The War That Changed Rondo #

2020 / Ukraine / 15 min 56 s

Danko, Zirka, and Fabian live peacefully in the small town of Rondo, a magical and joyful place where even the flowers sing! Everything is perfect… until the fateful day when war arrives. Having never experienced conflict, the inhabitants don’t know what to do. They try to talk to it and fight it, but nothing seems to stop the spread of war’s destruction and darkness. Harnessing the power of light, community and song, Danko, Zirka and Fabian, along with their neighbours, must rally together to lead Rondo to victory. The War That Changed Rondo reflects the darkness and pain that conflict bring, and the wounds that linger long after it’s over.

Directed by Olha Havrylova Screenwriters: Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv, Olha Havrylova Producer: Olena Golubieva Company: Chervony Sobaka Animation Studio

Deep Water
Deep Water #

2021 / Ukraine / 6 min 0 s

A lonely, chubby mermaid likes to peek at humans through the water pipelines using her magic. One day, she falls in love with a man and, blinded by passion, enters his apartment to satisfy her burning desires.

Directed by Anna Dudko Screenwriter: Anna Dudko Producers: Olena Golubieva, Kseniya Yefanova Company: Chervoniy Sobaka Animation Studio