Ukrainian Film Festival in Warsaw Highlights Experience of War

The ninth UKRAINA! film festival, focusing on Ukrainian cinematography, is underway in Warsaw, offering some 70 documentaries, feature films and shorts.

Amid the war raging in Poland’s eastern neighbor, the festival is being attended by more than 50 Ukrainian and Polish actors, directors and film producers.

“Our festival and we as filmmakers remind [viewers] that there is war in Ukraine and that we must support Ukraine,” the festival’s director, Beata Bierońska-Lach, told Polish state news agency PAP.

She said that part of the festival is a discussion on Russian disinformation campaigns targeting Poles and Ukrainians in an attempt to sow conflict between the two.

Bierońska-Lach revealed that the festival’s social media have been inundated with negative comments, some of which she suspects come from troll farms or are AI-generated.

Eleven films are competing in the best documentary category, 12 in the feature film category, and 20 in the shorts category.

One of the highlights is ‘Under the Volcano,’ telling the story of a Ukrainian family holidaying in Tenerife, where they become stranded when Russia invades their home country.

The film, directed by Damian Kocur, is Poland’s entry in the Best International Feature category at the upcoming Oscar awards.

Polish-Ukrainian relations

Among issues that the festival aims to highlight are the presence of the Polish minority in Ukraine, both historically and contemporarily, and a deeper look at how Ukrainians integrate into modern Polish society.

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Another key issue is the situation of Crimean Tatars: their history and rich culture as well as the persecution that the ethnic group has faced since Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

The festival, which opened on Monday, runs until Sunday, with screenings held in Warsaw's Kinoteka and Atlantic cinemas, as well as the Andrzej Wajda Film Culture Center.

Following its Warsaw run, the festival will go on tour around Poland.