This year, Filmfest Hamburg (29 September-8 October) will host film-festival participants from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, for the first time. “We will be happy to provide the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival with the use of our festival sites in Hamburg,” says Albert Wiederspiel, director of the German event.

Currently, only the Ukrainian part of the festival programme is planned to be shown in Hamburg, while films by participants from other countries will be shown on the big screen in Kyiv later in October. “We wish our Ukrainian colleagues good luck. This is a very difficult task in today's situation, and we really hope that the political situation in the capital of Ukraine will normalise soon,” states Wiederspiel.

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The director of Molodist, Andriy Khalpakhchi, comments: “Despite the full-scale war in Ukraine, it is already necessary today to do everything we can in aid of the revival of Ukrainian culture. In this regard, international film festivals are significant events that testify to its undiluted existence and integration into the world film scene. That’s why we are very grateful to the directors of Filmfest Hamburg, and personally to Albert Wiederspiel, for the suggestion to hold the national competition of short and full-length Ukrainian films within this prestigious forum. The international jury consists of Ukrainian director Eva Neumann, Iranian producer Farzad Pak and German actress Fritzi Haberlandt, and they will determine the winners. The programme will feature 12 short films and seven full-length ones, as well as some titles out of competition – a batch of short Ukrainian films, prizewinners from the past editions of the Molodist Film Festival and Eva Neumann's documentary Pryvoz. We hope that most of the directors of the competition films will be able to attend Filmfest Hamburg together with representatives of Molodist, which will enable communication with local audiences and convey the narratives of Ukraine's struggle for its own freedom.”

Ukrainian short and full-length films will be screened from 30 September-5 October at the Alabama cinema, located on the premises of the Kampnagel cultural centre in Hamburg. The jury will determine the winner and hand out the prize accordingly. “We will show two or three films a day. Of course, a number of interesting guests are also expected,” the director of the German festival promised.

The features on the line-up are Sniper. The White Raven by Marian Bushan (Ukraine), Butterfly Vision [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Maksym Nakonechnyi
scheda film] by Maksym Nakonechnyi (Croatia/Czech Republic/Sweden/Ukraine), Pamfir [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
intervista: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
scheda film] by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Ukraine/France/Poland/Chile/Luxembourg/Germany), Slovo House. Unfinished Novel by Taras Tomenko (Ukraine), Pokut [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrii Kokura
scheda film] by Andrii Kokura (Ukraine), Between Us [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Solomiia Tomashcuk
scheda film] by Solomiia Tomashcuk (Ukraine) and Stop-Zemlia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kateryna Gornostai
scheda film] by Kateryna Gornostai (Ukraine).

While the organisers are planning for the directors of Ukrainian films participating in the competition to come to Hamburg, they have also warned that changes could potentially be made to the programme owing to the war. The Filmfest Hamburg head hopes that there will be enough sponsors to financially support the representatives of the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival.

According to Carsten Brosda, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture and Mass Media, Ukrainian filmmakers must be given a platform so that they can showcase the full diversity and quality of Ukrainian culture. Russia's attack on Ukraine is also an attack on the freedom of culture and art, and the fact that part of the Ukrainian film festival is being held in Hamburg is a sign of such freedom of art and cultural exchange in Europe, the senator says.

This year, Filmfest Hamburg celebrates its 30th anniversary. The prestigious and well-known German event is visited annually by up to 40,000 people.