The 55th “Molodist” will screen five feature films in Ukrainian Premieres, 12 short films by students of Ukrainian director and screenwriter Dmytro Tomashpolskyi in “Genres. Academia,” and 23 films in the National Competition. The festival will also present “100: Century,” a retrospective of cult classics.
National Competition
Twenty-three short films are competing in the 55th “Molodist” National Competition. The winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize from Kyivstar TV, sponsor of the short film competition.
Homecoming, Roman Khimei, Yarema Malashchuk, Ukraine, 2026, 19 min
Glass Castles, Herman Serzhanov, Ukraine, 2025, 22 min
High Frequency, Andrii Kokura, Ukraine, France, Japan, 2026, 10 min
Fig, Novruz Hikmet, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, 2026, 17 min
Where Is the Ukrainian’s House?, Daria Holosko, Ukraine, Sakartvelo, 2025, 10 min
In Her Arms, Roman Volosevych, Ukraine, 2025, 20 min
Come Back, Anton Proza, Ukraine, 2026, 9 min
Easter Day, Mykola Zasieiev, Ukraine, France, 2025, 17 min
Don’t Be Naughty, Artem Kuznetsov, Ukraine, 2026, 5 min
A Day in the Life of Tatarin, Artem Iurchenko, Ukraine, 2026, 22 min
Swear to Me, Khrystyna Braslavska, Ukraine, 2026, 15 min
On a Stringer, Oleksandr Roshchyn, Ukraine, 2026, 14 min
Before Dawn, Julia Galeta, Ukraine, 2025, 11 min
Graduation 2026, Eva Emelyanova, Ukraine, 2026, 22 min
Giant, Vadim Mochalov, Ukraine, 2026, 17 min
I Do Not See When Shooting, Anastasia Stetsenko, Ukraine, 2025, 16 min
HOME TV, Sophia Gera, Ukraine, 2025, 27 min
On the Shield, Oksana Artemenko, Ukraine, 2026, 24 min
The Foreboding, Oleksandra Pletenetska, Ukraine, 2025, 7 min
Patronymic, Mariia Ponomarova, Ukraine, Netherlands, 22 min
Inside, Daria Lukasheva, Ukraine, 2026, 20 min
vortex, Henyk Zaiats, Volodymyr Prylutskyi, Ukraine, 2026, 7 min
your_tomorrow_will_never_come.mp4, Artemii Zharii, Ukraine, 2026, 20 min
Several films in the National Competition have already received festival awards or been selected for major programs. Homecoming by Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei won the Grand Prix and the National Competition at Wiz-Art 2026, as well as an award from the Ukrainian Film Critics Union. It was also shortlisted for the 2027 European Film Awards. Easter Day by Mykola Zasieiev made the same shortlist and was included in the official short film selection for the 2027 César Awards. Patronymic by Mariia Ponomarova was selected for the Short Cuts competition at the Toronto International Film Festival, while On a Stringer by Oleksandr Roshchyn was selected for Raindance’s Narrative Short program.
Ukrainian Premieres
The films in Ukrainian Premieres show life during the war in a range of settings, from a frontline city and occupied territory to communities where volunteers help people and animals reach safety.
Mariinka, Pieter-Jan de Pue, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, 2026, 94 min
Vesna, Rostislav Kirpičenko, Lithuania, France, Estonia, 2026, 93 min
Hirnyk, Mykola But, Ukraine, 2026, 68 min
Women Around Me, Maryna Nikitina, Ukraine, 2025, 90 min
Never Again, Maksym Tuzov, Ukraine, 2026, 67 min
Mariinka follows young people from a frontline city whose families and hopes for the future have been divided by more than a decade of war. The film won the Audience Award at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival and the Shoshana Prize for Best International Film at the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival. Director Pieter-Jan de Pue will attend the Kyiv premiere with support from the Embassy of Belgium in Ukraine.
In Vesna, the church of Andrii, a priest in an occupied city in southeastern Ukraine, becomes a morgue for civilians who have been tortured and killed. Andrii secretly returns their bodies to their families, putting his own life at risk. Anastasiia Pustovit stars in the film, and director Rostislav Kirpičenko will attend the Kyiv premiere.
Hirnyk follows civilians in the Donbas as they decide whether to leave their homes, and the volunteers helping evacuate residents and rescue animals. The film will have its world premiere at the 55th “Molodist.”
Women Around Me follows three women rebuilding their lives after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Yaryna is waiting for her fiancé to return from Russian captivity. Kateryna is helping her family adjust to life after her husband, a service member, lost both legs. Daria is grieving her husband. The film will have its world premiere at the festival.
Never Again looks at women serving in a war often seen as a man’s domain and asks why humanity has yet to find a way to stop wars. The film will have its world premiere at the 55th “Molodist.”
“Genres. Academia”
The Ukrainian Premieres section also includes 12 short films by students of Ukrainian director and screenwriter Dmytro Tomashpolskyi.
Alice in “Wonder Land,” Milena Pasichnyk, Ukraine, 2026, 11 min
The Blind Spot, Sophie Yatsyk, Ukraine, 2025, 10 min
Girl From Ashes, Lubov-Maria Karpiv, Ukraine, 2026, 9 min
Closed Broken Windows, Artem Shteynle, Ukraine, 2026, 9 min
Golden Fish, Iryna Zhydkova, Ukraine, 2026, 8 min
Carmen, Caroline Singh, Ukraine, 2026, 8 min
Among People, Anna Korshun, Ukraine, 2026, 9 min
Invisibility, Olha Savchenko, Ukraine, 2026, 12 min
The Pledge, Zakhar Shestiaiev, Ukraine, 2026, 10 min
The Last Concert, Bogdan Turovskyi, Ukraine, 2026, 14 min
Be My Blue, Yevhenii Shemet, Ukraine, 2026, 10 min
Fare Thee Well, Heorhii Pliiev, Ukraine, 2026, 14 min
“Century”
The non-competition “Century” program marks the 100th birthdays of Marilyn Monroe and directors John Schlesinger, Valerio Zurlini, and Shohei Imamura. It includes:
Let’s Make Love, George Cukor, USA, 1960, 119 min
The Ballad of Narayama, Imamura Shōhei, Japan, 1983, 130 min
Midnight Cowboy, John Schlesinger, USA, 1969, 113 min
The Desert of the Tartars, Valerio Zurlini, Italy, France, West Germany, 1976, 140 min
In Let’s Make Love, Marilyn Monroe plays Amanda, a star of a Broadway musical, while Yves Montand plays billionaire Jean-Marc Clément. When Clément learns that a show is making fun of him, he decides to audition for it himself rather than try to have it shut down. He falls for Amanda. The film received six award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for its music and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical.
The Ballad of Narayama is one of the best-known films by Japanese director Shohei Imamura. It won the Palme d’Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. In a mountain village, a harsh custom requires people who turn 70 to leave home and climb the mountain to die. The film centers on Orin, an elderly woman who is about to make that journey.
John Schlesinger’s
Midnight Cowboy won the Academy Award for Best Picture and remains the only X-rated film to receive the award. Joe Buck, a naive Texan, arrives in New York hoping to make a living as an escort to wealthy women. There, he meets Ratso, and the two gradually become friends. The film won three Oscars, for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In Valerio Zurlini’s final film, The Desert of the Tartars, young officer Giovanni Drogo arrives at a remote fortress on the edge of the desert. He waits for years for an enemy who never comes. The film, adapted from Dino Buzzati’s novel, won David di Donatello Awards for Best Film and Best Director, as well as the Silver Ribbon for Best Director.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Ukrainian State Film Agency, and the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Art Education.
Embassies and government institutions
Embassy of the Italian Republic in Ukraine
Italian Cultural Institute in Kyiv
Goethe-Institut Ukraine
Embassy of Spain in Ukraine
Embassy of France in Ukraine
French Institute in Ukraine
Embassy of Belgium in Ukraine
Embassy of Spain in Ukraine
Embassy of Poland in Ukraine
Polish Institute in Kyiv
Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ukraine
Embassy of Mexico in Ukraine
Embassy of Argentina in Ukraine
Ukrainian-Danish Youth House
German Films
Creative Europe Desk Ukraine
Sponsors and partners
State lottery operator M.S.L. and Loto-Zabava
Main media partner, 1+1 media
Film and television platform, Kyivstar TV
Creative partner, advertising agency McCANN Kyiv
ILTA Auto Center in Pechersk
Musafir, a Crimean Tatar restaurant bringing a taste of Crimea to the capital
Festival hotel partner, Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv Podil, City Centre
House of Cinema
Cinecitta Restaurant
Media partners
Suspilne
Suspilne Kultura
NV.ua
hromadske
#ProShoKino
Vechirniy Kyiv
