Kharkiv MeetDocs is all set to be the cultural voice of Eastern Ukraine for the sixth year in a row. This international festival of documentary and art films promotes the cultural integration of artists from various regions of Ukraine, in particular the eastern regions, which have suffered significantly as a result of Russian aggression. For security reasons, Kharkiv MeetDocs will open in Kyiv and will take place between 1 and 6 October in a hybrid format. The festival will take place with the support of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany (Auswärtiges Amt).

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This year's Kharkiv MeetDocs international documentary and feature film festival will open with the animated film Flee [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jonas Poher Rasmussen
fiche film] by Danish director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, about a refugee from Afghanistan, and the screenings will end with a Ukrainian movie about the history of Donbas by director Korniy Hrytsyuk, titled Eurodonbas, whose journey began a few years ago with a pitching session at the festival.

Evgenia Krigsheim, director and founder of the festival, commented: "We decided, despite all of the circumstances, to hold the festival this year as well. You can't curtail activities when Ukrainian culture, on the contrary, needs the widest possible presence in the world. Today, documentary is becoming the main direction of Ukrainian cinematography, and this is understandable. Artists strive to reflect the events around them and record a historical moment, telling Ukrainians and the world uninvented stories of our struggle for existence. And we, as a documentary film festival, simply could not stand aside. For the sake of security, this year we will open the event in Kyiv, because Kharkiv is still under enemy attacks. But next year, I am sure, we will hold the festival at home. And we are extremely grateful to our partner, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, for the support that keeps MeetDocs going.”

Programme manager Denis Budanov, who now lives in occupied Crimea, said: "Despite all the obstacles, the Kharkiv MeetDocs festival, which was forced to move from Kharkiv to Kyiv this year, will please the audience with a very strong selection of films. Directly at the cinema, viewers will be able to see 21 films, including nine films in the national competition, Ukrainian premieres and festival hits and five world premieres. The festival is also preparing an online section in which about 20 films are planned, among them there will be two Ukrainian premieres, a programme of retrospective screenings called 'Happy Week', which will include surprise films from the network of cinemas. Half of the films will be available only to viewers located in Ukraine, but there will be movies with access to viewing around the world."

The following films are part of the national competition: Diary of a Bride of Christ [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marta Smerechynska
fiche film] by Marta Smerechynska, Teachers. Holidays in the Occupation by Kostiantyn Kliatskin, Day of the Ukrainian Volunteer by Volodymyr Tykhyy, Not to See/Not to Sin by Anna Eresko, Mountains and Heaven in Between [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Dmytro Hreshko, Pryvoz by Eva Neumann, Plai. A Mountain Path [+lire aussi :
interview : Eva Dzhyshyashvili
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interview : Taras Tomenko
fiche film] by Taras Tomenko and Outside by Olga Zhurba.