This year, the festival’s non-competition programme offers a broad opportunity to discover diverse auteur cinema from around the world — including a brand-new non-competition section.
Two new films by the prominent representative of the Romanian New Wave Radu Jude, titles shortlisted by the European Film Academy, the winner of this year’s Palme d’Or in Cannes, and the SUNNY BUNNY winner — a collection of the year’s most acclaimed films forms this year’s Festival of Festivals programme at the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival.
Undoubtedly, one of the most significant screenings at Molodist will be It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi. The film by the renowned Iranian dissident director, known for his criticism of the authorities, had its world premiere in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the top award — the Palme d’Or. Panahi previously chaired the International Jury of the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival.
Fans of Romanian New Wave classic Radu Jude will have the chance to see two of his latest works. Kontinental ’25 premiered in the main competition of the Berlinale, where Jude received the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay.
His other film, Dracula, reimagines the classic story from a distinctly Romanian perspective. The film had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in August this year, where it was nominated for the Golden Leopard.
The programme also includes the winner of the Locarno Film Festival’s top award, the Japanese drama Two Seasons, Two Strangers by Shô Miyake.
Good news for those who missed the screening of this year’s SUNNY BUNNY winner: Cactus Pears, which received the Best Feature Film Award in the International Competition, will also be presented in the Festival of Festivals programme. Before its success at SUNNY BUNNY, the film triumphed at the World Cinema Dramatic Competition of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Eastern European cinema is represented by the Lithuanian film The Visitor. Director Vytautas Katkus received the Best Director Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere.
Silent Friend, starring Léa Seydoux, premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it collected a series of accolades. The film received the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics, while Swiss actress Luna Wedler won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actress.
Another Venice laureate, Below the Clouds by Gianfranco Rosi, is a documentary that also touches upon the topic of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It received the festival’s Special Jury Prize.
Completing the programme is Pillion, the debut feature by Molodist alumnus Harry Lighton, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling. This queer drama won the Best Screenplay Award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. The film also marks the acting debut of Jake Shears, the lead singer of the popular band Scissor Sisters.
Festival of Festivals Programme:
• Cactus Pears, Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, India, UK, Canada, 2025, 112’
• Dracula, Radu Jude, Romania, Austria, Luxembourg, Brazil, 2025, 170’
• Kontinental ’25, Radu Jude, Romania, Brazil, Switzerland, UK, Luxembourg, 2025, 109’
• It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi, Iran, France, Luxembourg, 2025, 102’
• The Things You Kill, Alireza Khatami, France, Poland, Canada, 2025, 110’
• Two Seasons, Two Strangers, Shô Miyake, Japan, 2025, 89’
• The Visitor, Vytautas Katkus, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, 2025, 111’
• Silent Friend, Ildikó Enyedi, Germany, France, Hungary, 2025, 147’
• Pillion, Harry Lighton, UK, Ireland, 2025, 106’
• Below the Clouds, Gianfranco Rosi, Italy, 2025, 115’
The already traditional Molodist programmes return: FORMA (bold and innovative expressions by emerging filmmakers), Scandinavian Panorama, and Midnight Special (before the full-scale invasion, screenings of this programme literally began around midnight — featuring films that tickle the nerves and provoke). In the Century section, we celebrate the 100th anniversaries of two outstanding directors — Maurice Pialat and Wojciech Has. As is known, SUNNY BUNNY has existed as an independent festival for three years now, but that doesn’t mean LGBTQIA+-themed films won’t be showcased at Molodist. On the contrary — queer films are present in various Molodist programmes.
The new non-competition section Molodist means Youth features two such titles. In Jone, sometimes, Sara Fantova tells the story of a 20-year-old young man who falls in love for the first time during a festival in Bilbao.
The film Away focuses on a boy who travels with his family to Utrecht to attend a football match — but suffers a panic attack.
The section as a whole gathers debut works by young filmmakers exploring themes of coming of age, relationships, and self-discovery.
MY: Molodist Means Youth
• A Luminous Life, João Rosas, Portugal, France, 2025, 99’
• Sugarland, Isabella Brunäcker, Austria, 2025, 86’
• The Batrachians, Diego Salomon, Spain, Venezuela, 2025, 77’
• Jone, sometimes, Sara Fantova, Spain, 2025, 79’
• Away, Gerard Oms, Spain, Netherlands, 2025, 99’
• Olivia & Las Nubes, Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat, Dominican Republic, 2024, 81’
• Our Wildest Days, Vasilis Kekatos, Greece, France, Belgium, Germany, 2025, 90’
There’s also much to look forward to in the Special Events section. A screening of Yasa, the film by cult Ukrainian director Sergii Masloboyshchykov, will take place. At the opening ceremony of the 54th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival on October 25, the filmmaker will be awarded the Honorary Scythian Deer for his contribution to Ukrainian cinema.
In January this year, a retrospective of Sergii Masloboyshchykov’s films was held with great success at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Yasa is currently his most recent film, first presented at the Odesa International Film Festival in 2024.
The film takes place in Ukraine in 2015 and unfolds as a confessional dialogue between two women who share a common grief. Hanna (the mother) and Darka (the young woman) are united by their memories of Danylo, who was killed in Kyiv in 2014 during the Revolution of Dignity. Through the women’s conversations and relationship, it gradually becomes clear that Hanna — whose path led her from being a Maidan activist in 2004 to a high-ranking official — was involved in corruption schemes that resulted in the mafia-style political comeback of 2010, and ultimately led to the Revolution of Dignity in 2014.
Viewers will also see Magellan by Lav Diaz — relatively short for this festival favourite, with a running time of 160 minutes.
We will also present a new documentary by Denis Côté, whose works are regularly featured in the Molodist programme. Director personally attended the festival in 2018. His film Paul, which premiered at Berlinale, tells the story of a young man overcoming depression — and through cleaning other people’s homes, helping them overcome their own struggles.
Also screening is What Does That Nature Say to You by Hong Sangsoo, a multiple Berlinale award-winner. The film, which also premiered in Berlin, follows a young poet visiting his girlfriend’s parents.
Rebuilding by Max Walker-Silverman became memorable to cinephiles thanks to Josh O’Connor’s vivid lead performance; its world premiere took place at Sundance.
We’ll also present the experimental film Holofiction by Michal Kosakowski, exploring visual representations of the Holocaust tragedy in world fiction cinema. The film premiered this year in Venice.
The audience of Molodist will also be treated to a special programme curated by the Dovzhenko Centre — Dragon at the Firing Range. Volodymyr Denysenko’s Workshop 1970–1985. It features student films by both well-known directors and those who later left the profession. Among the highlights is the diploma film Farewell (1970) by Viacheslav Kryshtofovych, known for the cult Ukrainian films A Friend of the Deceased (1997) and Forebodings (2019). Another remarkable participant is Antonis Papadopoulos — born in Athens, he studied under Volodymyr Denysenko (class of 1984) and later became the art director of the Drama International Short Film Festival in Greece.
Films of the programme:
• Lonely One, dir. Oleksandr Kybalnyk, 1970
• Farewell, dir. Viacheslav Kryshtofovych, 1970
• Mistake, dir. Oleksii Moroz, 1970
• Refugees, dir. Fauzi Hajdar, 1980
• Firing Range, dir. Oleh Chornyi, 1985
• The Pit, dir. Volodymyr Kovalenko, 1985
• Dragon, dir. Antonis Papadopoulos, 1984
Another archival programme comes from film scholars and Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi University archive researchers Alik Darman and Volodymyr Prylutskyi — B&W retrospective: 1998–2005.
This retrospective presents student films shot on film stock at the Karpenko-Karyi University between 1998 and 2005. These works represent a new generation of Ukrainian filmmakers — those who studied in post-Soviet conditions but had greater access to world cinema and culture, and above all, more freedom of self-expression than their predecessors. At the same time, this was one of the most difficult periods in Ukrainian cinema history: state funding was nearly nonexistent, feature production was minimal, and the documentary school practically went dormant — until the events of the Revolution of Dignity. It was a time of dreamy decline and uncertainty, yet also of new opportunities. The films vary widely in form and subject matter — but all are marked by sincerity and exploration. Some of these films won festival awards. For instance, Wayfarers became a breakthrough for Ukrainian cinema, earning international acclaim, and its director Ihor Strembitskyi won Ukraine’s first-ever Cannes Palme d’Or. Another example — Shooting Range, the diploma film by now-renowned director Taras Tomenko — was awarded at both Berlinale and the Venice Film Festival. Others captured everyday life of the time, though the fate of their authors remains unknown (e.g. Vitia Hurov).
Films:
• The Taoist Looks Back, dir. Maksym Surkov, 1998
• The Lift Operator, dir. Heorhii Fomin, 1998
• Shooting Range, dir. Taras Tomenko, 2000
• Paper Troubles, dir. Bohdana Smyrnova, 2001
• Vitia Hurov Goes to Italy, dir. Vitia Hurov, 2002
• Dreams in the City, dir. Maksym Mekheda, 2004
• Wayfarers, dir. Ihor Strembitskyi, 2005
SE: Special Events
• Paul, Denis Côté, Canada, 2025, 87’
• Holofiction, Michal Kosakowski, Germany, Austria, 2025, 102’
• Rebuilding, Max Walker-Silverman, USA, 2025, 95’
• Dragon at the Firing Range. Volodymyr Denysenko's Workshop (1970–1985), Oleksandr Kybalnyk, Viacheslav Kryshtofovych, Oleksii Moroz, Fauzi Hajdar, Oleh Chornyi, Volodymyr Kovalenko, Antonis Papadopoulos, Ukraine, 1970–1985, 120’
• b&w retrospective (85–05), Maksym Surkov, Heorhii Fomin, Taras Tomenko, Bohdana Smyrnova, Vitia Hurov, Maksym Mekheda, Ihor Strembitskyi, Ukraine, 1985–2005, 71’
• What Does That Nature Say to You, Hong Sangsoo, South Korea, 2025, 108’
• Magellan, Lav Diaz, Portugal, Spain, France, the Philippines, Taiwan, 2025, 160’
• Hen, György Pálfi, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 2025, 96’
• Yasa, Sergii Masloboischykov, Ukraine, 2024, 150’
In the section Scandinavian Panorama, the festival will present one of the most acclaimed films of the year — The Love That Remains by the master of Nordic cinema Hlynur Pálmason. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the festival’s most endearing distinction — the Palm Dog Award. Later, it was selected as Iceland’s entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Also featured in Cannes’ main competition was Eagles of the Republic by director Tarik Saleh, Sweden’s Oscar submission this year.
Another title from the Cannes lineup — A Light That Never Goes Out by Finnish director Lauri Matti Parppei — will also be screened.
SCA Programme: Scandinavian Panorama
• A Light That Never Goes Out, dir. Lauri Matti Parppei, Finland, Norway, 2025, 111’
• The Love That Remains, dir. Hlynur Pálmason, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France, 2025, 109’
• Live a Little, dir. Fanny Ovesen, Norway, Sweden, 2025, 98’
• Redoubt, dir. John Skoog, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Poland, 2025, 85’
• Eagles of the Republic, dir. Tarik Saleh, Sweden, France, Denmark, Finland, Germany, 2025, 96’
• Beginnings, dir. Jeanette Nordahl, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Iceland, 2025, 96’
The FORMA section features films from Serbia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Germany, Kazakhstan, the USA, and Ukraine.
The Smell of Lilac by film composer, electronic musician, and director Roman Kurhan is an experimental film — a metaphysical journey through memory. According to the author’s concept, the protagonist is an object rather than a subject, and the viewer spends 24 hours with him, exploring narrative development beyond traditional storytelling elements.
The film Swallow stars Oscar winner Brenda Fricker, best known to most viewers as the woman who fed the pigeons in Home Alone 2. Gateway had its world premiere at the Berlinale. The director will personally present the film in Kyiv.
4MA Programme: FORMA
• When the Phone Rang, Iva Radivojević, Serbia, USA, 2024, 73’
• The Swallow, Tadhg O'Sullivan, Ireland, 2024, 71’
• The Great History of Western Philosophy, Aria Covamonas, Mexico, 2025, 73’
• Gateway, J.D. Fernández Molero, Peru, Spain, 2025, 132’
• Action Item, Paula Ďurinová, Slovakia, Czechia, Germany, 2025, 69’
• Solo Show, Julius Weigel, Germany, Switzerland, 2025, 94’
• Joqtau, Aruan Anartay, Kazakhstan, 2024, 70’
• Foreign Objects, Daniel Clayton Watkins, USA, 2025, 84’
• The Smell of Lilac, Roman Kurhan, Ukraine, 2025, 61’
The Midnight Special programme also includes several queer-themed titles. Among them, Queerpanorama by Jun Li, presented at Film Fest Gent 2025, tells the story of a gay man in Hong Kong who adopts the persona of his former lover.
Street Trash imagines Cape Town in 2050, where a group of homeless people rises against a corrupt mayor who uses toxic gas against them.
Follies portrays a married couple who, after 16 years together, open their relationship in an attempt to rediscover themselves.
Redux Redux explores repetition, memory, and the errors of the past as its characters find themselves trapped in cycles of their own lives.
MN Programme: Midnight Special
• Queerpanorama, Jun Li, USA, Hong Kong, China, 2025, 87’
• Street Trash, Ryan Kruger, USA, South Africa, 2024, 85’
• Vulcanizadora, Joel Potrykus, USA, 2024, 85’
• Rains Over Babel, Gala del Sol, Colombia, Spain, USA, 2025, 113’
• Redux Redux, Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, USA, 2025, 107’
• Follies, Éric K. Boulianne, Canada, 2025, 101’
The Century programme celebrates the centenary of two outstanding filmmakers — Polish master Wojciech Has, who was not only a director but also a professor at the Łódź Film School, and Maurice Pialat, winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or.
To mark the anniversary of the outstanding actor Paul Newman, we will screen the American classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Alongside Paul in the leading role stars the legendary American actor Robert Redford, who passed away recently.
This year also marks the centenary of Mikis Theodorakis — one of the most prominent modern Greek composers. In 1964, he wrote the now world-famous melody Sirtaki, one of the symbols of contemporary Greece. Viewers will have the opportunity to watch Zorba the Greek at Molodist, the film that features this iconic tune.
With the support of the Embassy of Italy in Ukraine and the Italian Institute of Culture in Ukraine, there will be a screening of Franco Zeffirelli’s classic film The Taming of the Shrew.
100 Programme: The Century
• The Saragossa Manuscript, Wojciech Has, Poland, 1965, 177’
• To Our Loves, Maurice Pialat, France, 1983, 99’
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, George Roy Hill, USA, 1969, 110’
• The Taming Of The Shrew, Franco Zeffirelli, Italy, USA, UK, 1967, 122’
• Straw Dogs, Sam Peckinpah, UK, USA, 1971, 113’
• Zorba the Greek, Michael Cacoyannis, USA, UK, Greece, 1964, 142’
In the Ukrainian Premieres section, we will present the new documentary by renowned Ukrainian filmmaker Nadia Parfan — Birds & Beasts. The Universe of Hnizdovsky. The film was produced on commission from Suspilne Broadcasting.
This documentary tells the story of Yakiv Hnizdovsky, a celebrated Ukrainian-American artist whose journey from displaced persons’ camps to international recognition reflects the experience of today’s Ukrainian emigrants. Told through the eyes of his beloved cat, Jérôme, the film explores themes of identity, nature, and overcoming loneliness. The premiere will take place on October 26 at the House of Cinema.
The film Oxana by Charlène Favier (a César Award nominee for her debut Slalom) portrays the life of Oksana Shachko, co-founder and activist of the Femen movement, who tragically took her own life in Paris in 2018.
Another film, directed by Andrei Vaitovich, a French filmmaker of Belarusian origin, focuses on the people of Kharkiv, a city suffering daily from Russian shelling. The director follows the story of a pregnant woman whose partner is defending Ukraine. Amid the sounds of explosions, friendship, laughter, and faith are born — defying fear itself.
The feature-length documentary debut of volunteer and soldier Roman Ostrovskyi, Clouds Move with Great Speed, tells the stories of civilians and soldiers who were killed or injured as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The film Palyanytsia by Kadim Tarasov and Yuliya Bolshynska follows two artists — Bandyt and Johnny — who try to comprehend the ongoing events through a journey and art. Kyiv, Irpin, Bucha, Borodianka, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, Odesa, Mykolaiv — the film becomes an act of phenomenological exploration, where through encounters with the unfamiliar and the incomprehensible, the protagonists arrive at a simple truth: the only way to change the world is to change oneself.
Ukrainian Premieres Programme:
• Oxana, Charlène Favier, France, Hungary, Ukraine, 2024, 104’
• Clouds Move with Great Speed, Roman Ostrovskyi, Ukraine, 2025, 67’
• Palyanytsia, Kadim Tarasov, Yuliya Bolshynska, Ukraine, 2025, 64’
• The Unbroken, Andrei Vaitovich, France, 2025, 73’
• Birds & Beasts. The Universe of Hnizdovsky, Nadia Parfan, Ukraine, 2025, 70’
• Satisfaction, Alex Burunova, USA, Ukraine, Greece, 2025, 97’
The festival is held with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency and the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine.
General Media Partner: 1+1 mediaCoffee Partner: L’or — Infinite Coffee Art
General Technological Partner: Hisense
Lottery Partner: Loto-Zabava, operatorated by M.S.L.
International Institute of Depth Psychology
Film and TV platform Kyivstar TV
Creative Europe Desk Ukraine
Creative Partner: McCANN Kyiv Advertising Agency
Embassies:
Embassy of the Italian Republic
Italian Cultural Institute in Ukraine
Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark
Embassy of Argentina
Embassy of Spain
Embassy of the Hellenic Republic
Embassy of Switzerland
Embassy of Brazil
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine
Main Partners:
Goethe-Institute in Ukraine
ILTA Car Center Pechersk
Piraeus Bank
Ukrainian-Danish Youth House
TET TV Channel
Ukrainian natural cosmetics brand Mr. SCRUBBER
Ukrainian Railways
Radio Pyatnytsya
Hospitality Partners:
Restaurant of Crimean Tatar cuisine Musafir — a slice of Crimea in the capital
Halushka — network of modern Ukrainian restaurants and cultural centers
Tisto — café and bakery in Podil
Art-gastronomic space at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Ostannia Barykada
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Alcohol Partner: Kiy — vodka of the new Ukraine, vodka of cultural events
Hotel Partner: Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv Podil City Centre
Media Partners:
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