Director of Programming (Programme Director) of the Film Festival since 2024.
Ukrainian film scholar & researcher, critic, and festival programmer. Member of the European Film Academy (EFA), the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), the Ukrainian Film Academy (UFA), and the Union of the Ukrainian Film Critics (UUFC). Member of the Ukrainian Oscar Committee for the 2022–2023 and 2024–2025 terms. Participated in the work of the Kamianets-Podilskyi International Film Festival "BRUKIVKA" (Program Director for the 2020–2021 and 2023 editions), Kharkiv MeetDocs Eastern Ukrainian Film Festival (Program Consultant for the 2022 edition). Laureate of the National Film Critics' Award "Kinokolo" in the "For Achievement" category (2021) for "digital archiving of the national film process", as well as the recipient of a special honorary award from the IFF "BRUKIVKA" (2021) for "promoting the Ukrainian festival film movement".
Denis was born in Crimea. He holds higher degrees in law, economics, and art history, is a qualified film scholar, and graduated with honors with a Master's degree in Cinema Studies. He worked in law enforcement agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the housing and communal services sector, and in the private-commercial sector. With an interest in cinema since his school years, he initially pursued "cinephilia as a hobby", then became a moderator and author of film blogs on social media, and later began publishing articles in municipal media outlets. He later became an author of materials for print and online publications. After receiving his film studies education, he dedicated more time to his professional career in film industry. He runs his own blog about cinema and is a regular contributor to IMDb, Letterboxd, and other platforms. He actively promotes and popularizes Ukrainian film culture and the festival movement.
