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Competition Programme: Ukrainian Animation
2025 archive

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.

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Jury:
Davide Abbatescianni

Davide Abbatescianni

Italy

Davide Abbatescianni is a film journalist and critic based in Rome. He studied theatre, film, and journalism in Italy, Estonia, and Ireland. A staff writer for Cineuropa since 2017, he has covered major festivals worldwide, with work also appearing in Variety, Documentary, Business Doc Europe, New Scientist, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond website, and The New Arab. Since 2022, he has been editor-in-chief of The European Animation Journal and works as a funding consultant for two European bodies.
Viliam Vala

Viliam Vala

Australia

Graduated in Animation from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, in 1996. Two student films competed at Annecy in 1997. Since then, I’ve worked in film and TV as an editor, director, and animator. My latest short I'm Leaving explores thought trapped by belief. Recent work includes animation on Even Mice Belong to Heaven (2021) and Living Large (2024).
Eglė Davidavičė

Eglė Davidavičė

Lithuania

Animation director, film educator, completed BA in animation and MA in photography and media art at Vilnius Academy of Arts. Her debut animated film “The One Who Knows” has won numerous awards and travelled to over fifty festivals worldwide. Her work is rich in sensitive themes, exploring intimacy, body, and the relationship with oneself and the environment. She is currently developing a new animated film project.
Participants:
Iuliia Kotsiuba

Iuliia Kotsiuba

Ukraine

Iuliia Kotsiuba (b. 1981, Ukraine) is an animation director and storyboard artist. She studied environmental design and worked in graphic design before switching to animation. She completed animation courses at Projector School in 2021. Her debut short film, My Closet, premieres in 2025. Iuliia works at Karandash studio on projects like Woof and Joy, Chernobyl, Children of Fire, and Sonechko. She is also developing the feature film Fairywood. Her work features emotional storytelling and strong visuals.
Kateryna Omelianenko

Kateryna Omelianenko

Ukraine

Kateryna Omelianenko earned a Bachelor’s in Animation Directing from Kyiv National Karpenko-Kary University in 2024. Her film The Bus Stop screened at international festivals like Monstra (Portugal) and Hi FUNNY World (China), and was nominated for Best Animated Short at Ukraine’s Golden Dzyga Awards. She contributed to the animation anthology Cherry Orchard by the House, which screened at the Oscar-qualifying Cleveland Festival and made the Academy Awards longlist. Kateryna specializes in 2D animation, often featuring unique monsters and anthropomorphic animals.
Olena Onyshchuk

Olena Onyshchuk

Ukraine

Olena Onyshchuk (lulenni) is an animation director, animator, and illustrator based in Kyiv, Ukraine. She focuses on creating touching, relatable stories — often in the genres of drama and adventure, passionate about bringing simple yet emotionally rich narratives to life. In addition to her work in the animation industry on various projects, including music videos like Likhtaryky for Tonya Matvienko (2025), Patron the dog series (2022-2024), Olena develops personal films that reflect her artistic vision. Her works include Window (2022) and Memoirs (2024), the latter being her graduation film for Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television.
Iryna Tanasiichuk

Iryna Tanasiichuk

Ukraine

Originally from Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Iryna graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts, and currently lives in Tallinn. Inspired by the landscapes of her region, the director is interested in exploring the concept of place attachment when it comes to nature, especially in the context of the russian invasion in Ukraine, and how war changes our relationship with a place
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My closet
My closet

2025 / Ukraine / 3 min 39 s Under the influence of tragic circumstances, the young woman is forced separate with her husband. While doing ordinary things and maintaining contact with her lover, she tries to overcome her fear and despair. Will she be able to cope with her feelings if the connection is lost? Directed by Iuliia Kotsiuba Screenwriter: Iuliia Kotsiuba Producer: Oleh Malamuzh Company: Projector Scool

The Land Keeps Watch
The Land Keeps Watch

2025 / Estonia, Ukraine / 7 min 52 s The living Mountain makes friends with the Hiker following his act of kindness towards it, but not before long, a war breaks out and tears them apart. Directed by Iryna Tanasiichuk Screenwriter: Iryna Tanasiichuk Company: Estonian Academy of Arts

Memoirs
Memoirs

2024 / Ukraine / 3 min 47 s The animated documentary "Memoirs" follows a girl on a swing, whose music transports her into a journey of memories, where moments with loved ones intertwined with war and betrayal. As nostalgia engulfs her, light prevails over darkness, revealing the beauty of fleeting past moments. Directed by Olena Onyshchuk Screenwriter: Olena Onyshchuk Producer: Olena Onyshchuk Company: Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University

Weathered
Weathered

2024 / Ukraine / 1 min 34 s During the morning routine, one can either quarrel with or make peace with their wrinkles. Directed by Anna Ivanenko Screenwriter: Anna Ivanenko

Okean Elzy - Mukachevo
Okean Elzy - Mukachevo

2025 / Ukraine / 4 min 17 s "Mukachevo" is a Music Video for the legendary Ukrainian band Okean Elzy.
The band wanted to announce the release of their new album with this clip.
With only six weeks until the release and using a mix of traditional frame-by-frame and motion animation, we’ve created this intimate story, using even minor details of the lives of the band members, particularly the lead vocalist. Directed by Vitalii Nebelskyi Screenwriter: Olya Kapys Producer: Vitalii Nebelskyi

Kupala Night
Kupala Night

2024 / Ukraine, Sweden / 2 min 55 s A young girl is about to get unwillingly married, though she can't put her feelings aside and just accept her fate. This is a story of searching for your own freedom, expressed through symbolic of Ivana Kupala festival and Ukrainian culture. Directed by Ievgeniia Shastina Screenwriter: Ievgeniia Shastina Producer: Pär Berg Company: Sorangens Folkhogskola

Bus Stop
Bus Stop

2024 / Portugal / 4 min 9 s A traveling artist, accompanied by a crow, comes across an abandoned bus stop adorned with Soviet symbols. He intends to paint the facade with Petrykivka, but the crow's cawing distracts him, causing him to destroy the symbol. Directed by Alina Didenko Screenwriter: Alina Didenko Producer: Alina Didenko Company: Escola das Artes - Universidade Católica Portuguesa

The Only One to Care
The Only One to Care

2025 / Ukraine / 7 min 58 s Since the start of the invasion on 24th of February 2022 many people were forced to leave their homes, so that they could find a safer place. However, some weren't so mobile as they had not just their own life to carry on but also a life of a loved one with disabilities who cannot take care of themselves alone. Directed by Kateryna Omelianenko Screenwriter: Kateryna Omelianenko Producer: Olena Kasavina Company: I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television

I died in Irpin
I died in Irpin

2024 / Ukraine, Czech Republic / 11 min 22 s 24 February 2022 my boyfriend and I fled from Kyiv to Irpin. We spent 10 days in blockaded city and managed to escape with the last evacuation convoy. Time passed, but the feeling that I died in Irpin never left me since then. The film reconstructs this true story of survival through a personal and subjective lens. Directed by Anastasiia Falileieva Screenwriter: Anastasiia Falileieva Producers: Alena Vandasová, Martin Vandas, Juraj Krásnohorský, Anastasiia Falileieva Company: MAUR film, Artichoke, Plastic Bag Studio

Off-Time
Off-Time

2025 / Japan, Ukraine, United States / 10 min 45 s A data engineer rushes through life, believing multitasking saves time—but it only creates chaos. Despite his strict control over time, nothing gets done: his home is a mess, work overflows, and breakfast is always burnt. He discovers joy in life only when time breaks apart. Directed by Nata Metlukh Screenwriter: Nata Metlukh Producer: Nata Metlukh

The Town On The Sand
The Town On The Sand

2024 / Ukraine / 5 min 50 s The russian occupation attempts to invade the imprinted memories, where the light in Ukrainian cities is preserved. Directed by Vladyslav Kalenskyy Screenwriter: Vladyslav Kalenskyy Producer: Vladyslav Kalenskyy

My closet
My closet