The eight most anticipated Ukrainian films to be released this spring
NV highlights new Ukrainian films that will be released in cinemas in the spring of 2024, several of which have been long-awaited by Ukrainian audiences.
A number of premieres is to take place in the spring of 2024, some of which have been anticipated for several years, such as Ya, “Pobeda” i Berlin (I, “Victory,” and Berlin) and Cenzorka (Censor). Others, such as Lyshaisya online (Stay online) and Krashanka, are their authors’ reflections on Russia’s full-scale war of against Ukraine.
The films Ya i Felix (Felix and Me) and Ty Mene Lubysh? (Do you love me?) are coming of agestories that return the audience to the shaky 1990s. The romantic comedy Smak svobody (The Taste of Freedom) highlights the often forgotten Olha Franko and books on Ukrainian cuisine.
Smak svobody / The Taste of Freedom
Premiere: March 7
Genre: romantic comedy
Director: Oleksandr Berezan
A comedy about Lviv, Ukrainian cuisine, and true love. The movie will not only make audiencesfall in love with Lviv and Ukrainian cuisine, but will also highlight Olha Franko (1896−1987), the wife of Ivan Franko's son Peter Franko, and the author of Ukrainian cuisine-focusedcookbooks. The plot tells of a young girl, the cook Varya, who loses her job because her haute cuisine does not suit the roadside café where she works. She goes to Lviv in the hope of finding a job in a restaurant. An unexpected find, Franko's cookbook - changes her life forever.
Cenzorka (107 Mothers) / Censor (107 Mothers)
Premiere: March 7
Genre: docudrama
Director: Péter Kerekes
Cenzorka (or 107 Mothers), directed by Slovak director Péter Kerekes, tells the story of a young mother, Lesya, who gives birth to her first child in a women's prison. Lesya's biggest concern is whether she will be allowed to keep custody of her child. The prisoner's life is observed by a prison official, the lonely censor Olena, who finds it increasingly difficult to stay aloof.
The film premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, where it won the prize for Best Screenplay in the Horizons competition. It received the prize of the International Federation of the Film Press (FIPPRESSI) for the European Discovery and the prize of the European Film Academy in 2022. Slovakia nominated Cenzorka for the Oscar the same year, the film was included in the longlist of the award.
Ya,"Pobeda" i Berlin / Me, “Victory,” and Berlin
Premiere: March 14
Genre: road trip
Director: Olha Ryashina
Me, “Victory,” and Berlin is one of the most anticipated and most sensational films of the spring. It was supposed to be released in 2022, but the premiere was postponed due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The film is based on the book of the same name by the famous Ukrainian musician, Kuzma Skryabin, who died in a car accident in Feb. 2015. The film features his songsas performed by leading Ukrainian artists like Antytila, Jamala, Bez Obmezhen, TVORCHI, Tina Karol, Monatik, Skryabin, TNMK and others.
The movie will return viewers to the chaotic 1990s, Scryabin's youth, and the youth of those viewers who grew up with the legendary musician. The main character of the film, Kuzma, a novice musician, goes with his friend, Bard, and drives an old Pobeda (Soviet-manufactured car) to Berlin three days to exchange it for a Mercedes-Benz, which is a prize at a concert. The trip does not go according to plan, however.
Lyshaisya online / Stay Online
Premiere: March 28
Genre: action drama, detective
Director: Eva Strelnikova
Stay Online is one of the first attempts to tell the story of the full-scale war in Ukraine thgroughthe medium of a feature-length video game movie. The main character, Katya, accidentally finds the laptop of a missing man and, while locked in her apartment, she tries to discover the owner of the computer. She finds clues in his social networks and learns that the owner's name is Andrii and that he has a son, Sava, who lost his dad during the evacuation from Bucha. Despite her fear and lack of volunteer experience, Katya promises the little boy that she will find his parents.
Ya i Felix / Felix and Me
Premiere: April 11
Genre: drama, coming-of-age
Director: Iryna Tsylyk
This film was adapted from the book Khto ty? (Who Are You?) by the Ukrainian writer and soldier Artem Chekh. Felix and Me tells the story of a boy, Timofiy, who grows up in the 1990s. The plot revoloves around his relationship with his family, friends, first love, and a former counter-intelligence officer, Felix, who served in wartime.
Iryna Tsylyk, who made the documentary Zemlya blakytna, yak apelsyn, and won the prize for Best Director at the Sundance International Festival of Independent Film, directs. It is her full-length feature debut.
Krashanka
Premiere: April 25
Genre: family comedy
Director: Taras Dudar
A family comedy about the attempt of three generations to get along with each other. The movie’s main events takes place amid the full-scale invasion. The Zabiyaka family, who have not seen each other for many years, gathers at their parents' house for Easter. Two sisters and a brother seek comfort, but find their father behaving rather strangely: building a missile to hit Moscow, and kill Putin.
Tisto / Dough
Premiere: May 2
Genre: Documentary
Director: Dmytro Kochnev
The documentary Tisto continues to explore Ukraine, as the previous films Spadok (Legacy) and Vesilniy Spadok (Wedding Legacy) did. The subject of this film's research was Ukrainian cookingtraditions. The creative team and project leaders are chefs Olha Martynovska and Volodymyr Yaroslavskyi. They made a trip across Ukraine, in which they communicated with unique people: cooks, bakers, confectioners, restaurateurs, and fans of gastronomic research. The viewer will learn more than two dozen recipes. Audiences will learn to understand the philosophy of bread, flour, and dough, with the help of famous Ukrainian chefs.
Ty mene lubysh? / Do You Love Me?
Premiere: May 30
Genre: drama, coming-of-age
Director: Tonya Noyabrova
This depicts what it was like to grow up in the turbulent 1990s. The main character, 17-year-old Kira, is going through the divorce of her parents and is faced with moral challenges and the need to make adult decisions amid the tectonic changes happening the country: the collapse of the USSR and the formation of independent Ukraine. The international premiere of the film took place at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival last year in the Panorama section.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
