Film festival season is well underway, and Razom Cinema is keeping a close eye on what’s being programmed. The Sundance Film Festival brought another win for a Ukrainian story – the documentary Porcelain War directed by Slava Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo took home the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature. The film is coming to the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) and will be screening together with other stories focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as narrative cinema in a program called Ukrainian Cinema. CIFF 2024 will take place in Cleveland, OH from April 3-13, with CIFF streams available April 14-21.
This program also includes Razom Cinema grantee Rule of Two Walls directed by David Gutnik and produced by Olha Beskhmelnytsina! It is incredible to see Ukrainian cinema be celebrated at international film festivals and we are excited to share our Festival Guide: Through Ukrainian Eyes ClFF 2024 edition. Good news – if you are not able to catch them in Cleveland in person, you can tune in online through CIFF Streams. Here’s what we’ve got:
In-person: Sat April 6 | KeyBank State Theater
Online: April 14 – 21
In this harsh but elucidating doc, UkrainianAmerican filmmaker David Gunik trains his camera on the Ukrainian artists who have chosen to stay behind as Russia’s invasion rages on around them. By making their art, they hope to protect their embattled country’s own artistic culture, no matter how many bombs drop around them.
In-person: Fri April 5 | Upper Allen Theater
Tue April 9 | Upper Allen Theater
Online: April 14 – 21
There’s more than one way to fight a war. Witness the ongoing invasion of Ukraine from inside the battle-torn country’s administration through such officials as the Minister Of Foreign Affairs, the Vice Prime Minister, and the nation’s lead negotiator, as they attempt to broker peace.
In-person: Wed April 10 | Mimi Ohio Theater
Online: April 14 – 21
How does one fight for the gold when an endless war has taken away a generation of competitors and destroyed their facilities? Meet the dwindling number of Ukrainian athletes as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, while trying to survive Russia’s violent invasion of their country.
In-person: Fri April 12 | Allen Theater
As the Russia-Ukraine war rages mere miles away, Kharkiv-based husband and wife team Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko make tiny porcelain figurines. What does it mean to continue with their artistic passions as the world crumbles around them? Winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2024.
In-person: Fri April 12 | Mimi Ohio Theater
Online: April 14 – 21
Will you survive if nobody loves you? Get an uncompromising glimpse of troubled adolescent life in post-Communist Kyiv through Tonia, the new kid in school, as she tries to assimilate into her new world. But as a love triangle starts to form among the clique, will her past catch up with her?
In-person: Wed April 10 | Allen Theater
Online: April 14 – 21
In a war-torn land, a courageous young woman joins the Ukrainian military forces as a sapper, determined to bring peace by clearing the land where she was born. Her journey defies conventions, showcasing the power of individual bravery amidst the chaos of the war.
An unlikely group of lawyers with no previous humanitarian experience, drive used pickup trucks into an active warzone.
In another country, separated from her family, one phone call is all Galyna has to ensure their safety.
A Ukrainian father delivers stoves to frontline families without power, all while attempting to create normalcy for his children growing up in a war zone.
A young man faces the wrath of a family of criminals that target people who are famous on the internet and extort money from them. When their scheme fails, the plan to kill him takes an unexpected turn.
Lera, a young Ukrainian refugee in Ireland, uses dark web seance software to connect with her sister who has just died on the front line.
Filmed in early 2023, on the Ukrainian-Russian border, this short documentary explores two artists’ use of their creativity and art as a means of cultural survival and defiance.
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Together, we can prove to cultural programmers that Ukrainian stories are necessary and that there is a large audience ready for them.
Дивимось і читаймо Українське Разом!