In solidarity with Ukraine, Sheffield DocFest announces ‘Password: Palianytsia’

Sheffield DocFest is proud to announce the Ukraine focus: ‘Password: Palianytsia’ which will launch with the World Premiere of One Day in Ukraine, by media activist and filmmaking collective Babylon’13. This co-created film centres on a single day during the war in Ukraine, March 14, 2022.

The Ukraine focus includes work across Sheffield DocFest’s film programme, Alternate Realities exhibition, industry programme and Talks & Sessions with:

• 4 feature documentaries in Sheffield DocFest Official Selection
• 4 feature documentaries from Docudays UA Official Competition
• Docudays curated screening with talk
• VR, art and TikTok works in Alternate Realities exhibition
• 5 projects in development selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket
• 3 projects in Works-in-Progress in partnership with Ukrainian Institute
• Ukrainian delegation of filmmakers and artists supported by the British Council

This comprehensive programme is an expression of solidarity with Ukraine. It provides a powerful encounter with contemporary Ukrainian life – including the horrific reality of this war. For the Sheffield DocFest team, the programme grew from wanting to support and collaborate with their respected colleagues at Docudays UA and valued partners at the Ukrainian Institute and the British Council. The programme creates a space in which Ukrainian filmmakers and artists can continue to have their work seen, develop new projects, and keep Ukrainian culture alive.

Due to the war, Docudays UA, the main human rights international documentary film festival in Ukraine, was prevented from taking place in March this year. Sheffield DocFest offered Docudays UK to collaborate on programming and to present the four Ukrainian films from it’s own Official Competition. Docudays UA then also curated a screening and talk to contextualise the current military aggression looking at how Ukrainian documentary filmmakers have experienced and comprehended the years since the Revolution of Dignity (Maidan) in 2014.

The Ukrainian Institute was already working with Sheffield DocFest to bring a delegation of filmmakers with works-in-progress to Sheffield as part of the long-planned UK/Ukraine Season. This would be the latest in several exchanges and initiatives between DocFest and the Ukrainian Institute over the last decade. After the full scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022, it did not seem possible for this exchange to go ahead as planned.

Clare Stewart, Interim CEO and the Sheffield DocFest team said: “The fact that this collaboration has expanded, and is now represented across all of our programme, is a testimony not only to the great documentaries Ukraine is producing, but also to the resilience and the commitment of our Ukraine colleagues, who despite the unimaginable challenge of living in a state of war, continue to fight for the future of Ukrainian culture.”

The programme title – Palianytsia – is a large Ukrainian traditional bread made of wheat grain. The word itself has been used since the beginning of the war at checkpoints to identify saboteurs. Russian-speaking Ukrainians can easily handle the demand to say “Palianytsia”, Russians cannot pronounce a soft “ts” sound that does not exist in Russian. This word has given rise to many Internet memes, posters and popular songs. There are even radio interceptions where the Russian military is training to say it to each other – for fear of being exposed. This word alone testifies to Ukrainian identity and brings security.

Roman Bondarchuk, art director, Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival said: “On behalf of the entire team of Docudays UA, I thank the amazing people from Sheffield DocFest for the initiative to create a programme of solidarity with Ukraine this year. In the year when the war started in our country and when we have to postpone our festival until the moment of liberation from the enemy, this is an invaluable step. New Ukrainian films and projects – in spite of everything – will be able to gain their fans and jury evaluations.”

The British Council and the Ukrainian Institute have been planning a season of culture in 2022 for some time – originally to mark 30 years of the UK’s diplomatic relationship with Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine in February strengthened resolve to deliver a season, with a revival of interest in Ukraine’s culture and heritage. Through a year-long programme of activity the Season aims to strengthen and deepen cultural partnerships between both countries, and provide new opportunities for exchange including through residencies, talks, films and lectures. The programme will focus on the changed needs and priorities of the Ukrainian sector and give a voice to Ukrainian creatives, both in the UK and online. The British Council has a long-standing relationship with Sheffield DocFest, so launching the season here has particular resonance.

Scott McDonald, chief executive, British Council, and Volodymyr Sheiko, director general, Ukrainian Institute said: “The British Council and Ukrainian Institute are delighted to be working together on delivering this season of culture, and to be launching it at Sheffield Doc Fest. Film is a key creative sector in Ukraine, and now more than ever it is important that new films giving voice to contemporary Ukrainian culture are visible and accessible to international audiences”.

As part of the UK/Ukraine season and with the support of the British Council, a delegation of Ukrainian filmmakers and artists will visit Sheffield to present their documentary films, VR and artwork. Selected project teams will also attend to participate in the MeetMarket, Sheffield DocFest’s flagship pitching forum which connects selected teams with a vast network of international industry representatives at the Festival.The Docuday’s DOCU/PRO team have been vital contributors in facilitating the MeetMarket selection. Additionally, three films will attend for Work-In-Progress presentations as was originally planned, and these projects have been selected from an open call.

Sheffield DocFest Official Selection

Ukrainian documentary features screening across Sheffield DocFest Official Selection include:

Fragile Memory – Ukraine, Slovakia – 2022 – Igor Ivanko UK Premiere
Ihor Ivanko sheds light on the life of his grandfather, Leonid Burlaka, a cinematographer from the glory days of Odessa Film Studio, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

One Day in Ukraine – Ukraine, Poland – 2022 – Volodymyr Tykhyy World Premiere

Media activist and filmmaking collective Babylon’13, formed during the Maidan uprisings, focus on the events of March 14, 2022 – the 2,944th day of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Outside – Ukraine, Netherlands, Denmark – 2022 – Olha Zhurba UK Premiere
Olha Zhurba’s powerful debut feature tells the story of Roma, who at 13 years old became the poster child of the 2014 revolution.

Overcoming the Darkness – Ukraine – 2022 – Kinodopomoga World Premiere
This kaleidoscope of short stories shines a light on Ukrainians bravely defending their land against the Russian invasion, with millions struggling for their right to exist.

Docudays UA films from Official Competition

Docudays UA is the leading international human rights documentary film festival in Ukraine. Prevented from taking place in Kyiv in March this year, due to the war, Docuday’s presents the four Ukrainian films in its Official Competition selection at Sheffield DocFest:

Infinity According to Florian – Ukraine – 2022 – Oleksiy Radynski UK Premiere
As this riveting portrait of the multi-hyphenate artist Florìan Jur’jev unfurls, the acclaimed architect faces one of the greatest challenges of his storied career.

Mountains and Heaven in Between – Ukraine – 2022 – Dmytro Hreshko International Premiere
An intimate portrait of life in a remote mountain village, seen through the eyes of four paramedics, as the spectre of COVID-19 becomes a reality.

Plai. A Mountain Path – Ukraine – 2021 – Eva Dzhyshyashvili UK Premiere
Eva Dzhyshyashvili’s contemplative film details rural life for a couple whose world is irrevocably impacted by conflict but whose resilience perseveres.

Pryvoz – Ukraine – 2021 – Eva Neymann UK Premiere
A vast market in Odessa is the setting for this fascinating observational documentary, highlighting its role as an artery in the everyday activities of city life.

Talks & Sessions

Peace & Tranquility + Boney Piles + extended discussion

A talk that contextualises Russia’s current military aggression against Ukraine, looking at how Ukrainian documentary filmmakers have experienced and comprehended the years since the Revolution of Dignity (Maidan), follows the screening of two films:

• Peace & Tranquility – Ukraine – 2022 – Myro Klochko
  Playwright Andrii Bondarenko’s life – the peace and tranquility of his boyhood, bookended by historical traumas and conflict – is encapsulated in a film produced two weeks after the Russian invasion.
• Boney Piles – Ukraine – 2022 – Taras Tomenko UK Premiere
  Taras Tomenko’s powerful film explores the physical, psychological and emotional impact of war on children, and the resilience that endures in spite of it.

Alternate Realities

Alternate Realities exhibits and showcases innovative non-fiction and immersive documentary in all forms with a flagship exhibition at Sheffield’s Site Gallery and other works across the city. Ukraine related selections include:

Rozsypne – The Netherlands – 2019 – Nienke Huitenga and Lisa Weeda International Premiere
Virtual reality format: – In the summer of 2014, as war raged around the otherwise peaceful rural village of Rozsypne, in east Ukraine, elderly Nina tries to preserve her everyday life.

Out of Body Experience – Ukraine – 2020 – Photinus Studio International Premiere
Single channel format: – Striving to maintain their connection and artistic practice during lockdown, Ukrainian artist collective Photinus Studio created a performative space for collaboration where all participants become one malleable body.

A TikTok War – Ukraine / UK – 2022 – Various
From hiding out in bunkers to traveling across Europe as refugees, TikTok has been appropriated to chronicle and explain the horror of the Ukraine war.

MeetMarket project selection

Five Ukrainian projects have been added to the previously announced 35 projects in Sheffield DocFest’s flagship documentary pitching forum:

Intercepted    

Ukraine, Canada | Director: Oksana Karpovych | Producers: Giacomo Nudi, Rocío Barba Fuentes

Ivan & Marta. A Day Before the War

Ukraine | Director: Sergey Bukovsky | Producer: Oksana Ivaniouk

Nice Ladies (working title)

Netherlands, Ukraine | Director: Mariia Ponomarova | Producers: Rogier Kramer, Maksym Nakonechnyi, Anna Zobnina, Alina Gorlova

Shut the Fuck Up!   

Ukraine, France | Director: Taisiia Kutuzova | Producers: Stephane Siohan, Olga Beskhmelnytsina

UP IN THE AIR  

Ukraine, Czech Republic | Director: Oksana Syhareva | Producers: Oksana Syhareva, Nataliia Pogudina, Karla Stojakova   

Works-in-progress Screenings

Three project teams – selected from an open call – will present Works-In-Progress as part of the Industry Programme:

Expedition 49
Ukraine, France, Poland | Director: Alisa Kovalenko | Producers: Stephane Siohan, Valery Kalmykov, Tomek Morawski

Fragments of Ice
Ukraine | Director: Maria Stoianova | Producers: Alina Gorlova, Maksym Nakonechnyi

Iron Butterflies
Ukraine, Germany, France | Director: Roman Liubiy | Producers: Andrii Kotliar, Volodymyr Tykhyy

Sheffield DocFest, now in its 29^th year returns as a fully in-person event, is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. It champions and presents the breadth of documentary form – film, television, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June.