Kyiv International Film Festival «Molodist» will be held for the 55th time in Kyiv from 24 of October to 1 of November 2026.
The Festival has been established by the «Molodist» foundation.
The Festival is a part of the list of specialized film festivals, accredited by FIAPF and has such objectives as:
International Competition program consists of three categories:
All films produced after January 1, 2026 at professional studios or film schools are eligible for submission to the program.
Submitted films to Student and Short categories will be considered in case of availability of 35mm film print, DCP, BluRay, or HD digital files as screening media.
Submitted films to the Full-length category will be considered in case of the presence of 35mm film print or DCP as screening media.
Films that have been screened in Ukraine are not eligible for submission to the program.
Short films (fiction, animation, documentary) produced in Ukraine (or in co-production with Ukraine) after January 1, 2025 (any media) are eligible for submission to the program.
Films that have been screened in Ukraine are eligible for submission to the program.
Full-length films (fiction) produced after January 1, 2025 (any media) are eligible for submission to the program.
All films produced after January 1, 2025 at professional studios or film schools are eligible for submission to the program.
Submitted films to Documentary category will be considered in case of the presence of 35mm film print or DCP as a screening media.
Films that have been screened in Ukraine are not eligible for submission to the program.
The festival also has a non-competition section which represents selections of the latest films from a certain country or region, productions of film schools, thematic programs, retrospectives, and special events.
Each film received by the Festival needs to have English-language subtitles as well as detailed documentation in English, including:
Registration of a film at the festival requires payment of a registration fee (except for Ukrainian films).
The Festival doesn’t return an entry form, preview-DVD of film or accompanied documentation (excluding special agreements).
The period of acceptance of films and documentation is untill August 1, 2026.
Films will be selected by a Selection Committee, appointed by the Board of Directors.
The Selection Committee will announce its decision during the period of Septemeber 1-15, 2026.
Festival films will be insured the amount of their print value by the festival. Insurance coverage takes effect from the registration of the film's arrival in Kyiv until they are handed over to a forwarding agent for return dispatch.
Festival guarantees the right presentation of the film in all informational issues that will be distributed during the Festival such as catalog, program, website etc.
Festival guarantees to participants that no film selected for the festival program will be screened before its official presentation.
Festival has an obligation to prevent all film materials from screen capture and piracy during the selection process and screenings according to FIAPF standards (Chapter IV, article 8 of the Regulations for International Film Festivals).
The Festival will not pay screening fees for the films selected for the International and the National Competition program.
Festival does not inform applicants about the reason(s) for rejection of the application.
Festival has the right to 3 screenings of the films selected for the official competition. Number of screenings of films in other competition sections as well as non-competition sections is agreed with the rights holder.
Films selected for student or short international competition sections could be screened within the noncommercial presentational programs of the festival on the territory of Ukraine during the period of 2026-2027 in case of filmmaker’s (right holder’s) approval mentioned in the completed entry form.
Films selected for the National competition section could be screened within the non-commercial presentational programs of the festival overseas during the period of 2026-2027 in case of author’s (right holder’s) approval mentioned in the completed entry form.
The Board of Directors forms an International Jury which awards the films of the International Competition program and operates according to the Regulations for International Film Festivals by FIAPF as well as Regulations of Kyiv International Film Festival «Molodist».
The National Competition program has its own jury.
Competition program «Teen Screen» has its own children’s jury.
First professional Documentary film competition program has its own jury.
FIPRESCI, FICC, and Ecumenical juries as well as other juries can be also presented at the festival.
The sums of prizes are provided before taxes. The payment of money made after deductions and payment of taxes is provided in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine.
Other awards:
Other non-regulation awards sponsored by private persons, organizations, or institutions may be awarded by the approval of the Board of Directors of the festival.
Directors of films selected for the International full-length competition section are invited as participants (travel expenses and 4 nights accommodation are covered by the festival).
Directors of films selected for International student or short International competition sections are invited as participants (4 nights accommodation are covered by the festival).
Applications for accreditation as a guest or press must be received not later than October 15, 2026.
The participants invited to Kyiv are obliged to provide all the information requested by the guest service in a period of 7 days after the invitation.
The participants who are not able to attend due to various reasons except for unpredictable circumstances of non-personal character can inform the guest service of the festival within 7 days before the arrival date. In case the participants are late with informing the guest service and can not attend the festival, they are obliged to reimburse the costs that have been already incurred for their visit to Kyiv.
The Board of Directors provides free advertising and public information for festival films and organizations participating in the festival. Advertising campaigns of any other organizations or films are subject to special agreement.
Cases not covered by these regulations will be considered directly by the festival organizers in compliance with the Regulations for International Film Festivals by FIAPF.