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OKO FOCUS 2024
A Bit of a Stranger, 2024
Director: Svitlana Lishchynska
Country: Ukraine, Germany, Sweden
Svitlana, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian, examines the colonised part of her consciousness and tries to find answers to the question of how Soviet totalitarianism and Russification influenced the relationships within her family.
A Picture to Remember, 2023
Director: Olga Chernykh
Country: Ukraine, France, Germany
An essayistic journey through war and memory, this film traces how three generations of Ukrainian women—the filmmaker, her mother, and grandmother—search for ways to cope with recurring, painful loss.
Checkpoint Zoo, 2024
Director: Joshua Zeman
Country: USA, Ukraine
In the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian war Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, was turned into a warzone. On one side of the battlefield was the invading Russian army, on the other side, the defending Ukrainians, and caught in between them, was a zoo called Feldman Ecopark. The heroic efforts of zookeepers and volunteers to save 5,000 animals are captured in the film.
Cognition Trilogy: Separation, 2024
Director: Sophia Gera
Country: Ukraine
During the first wave of the pandemic, Nastia, Vlad, Anton and Sophia leave Kyiv for the scenic village of Bakota. In full isolation, they spend weeks in nature—an elemental force that becomes their refuge and catalyst for transformation.
Dad's Lullaby, 2024
Director: Lesia Diak
Country: Ukraine, Romania, Croatia
The unseen wounds of war shadow Serhii’s return. After profound loss, he struggles to reconnect with his wife Nadiia and their three sons—but a quiet distance settles in, accompanied by a deep longing for closeness.
Glyadyelov. Focus On Infinity, 2024
Director: Ksenia Kravtsova
Country: Ukraine, Lithuania
Oleksandr Glyadelov is a master of documentary photography from Ukraine. From the early 1980s to the present day, he has been creating a unique and distinctive chronicle of our times. Documenting events in Transnistria, Chechnya, Azerbaijan and, since 2014, the Russo-Ukrainian war, Oleksandr was convinced that a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine would happen.
Homefront / Thuisfront, 2024
Director: Anna Yutchenko, Anna Ilchenko
Country: Netherlands
A refugee family with five children is offered a new home in a remote farming village in western Ukraine. After months, they suddenly disappear and the filmmakers start looking for them. Where is home when you've lost it?
Photophobia / Svetloplachosť, 2023
Director: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine
On a cold February morning, 12-year-old Niki and his family arrive at the Kharkiv metro station to take shelter from the terrifying war raging outside. For Niki’s family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, and the boy is not allowed to leave the station premises, living under the constant glow of their neon lights. While aimlessly wandering around the abandoned cars and full platforms, Niki meets 11-year-old Vika, and a new world opens up to him. As their bond strengthens, the children find the courage once again to feel the sun on their faces.
The Basement, 2024
Director: Roman Blazhan
Country: France, Ukraine
In early March 2022, Russian troops occupied the village of Yahidne in Northern Ukraine.
They made their headquarters in the school and locked all the local residents - almost 400 people, including 77 children - into the school basement. People stayed there for 27 days. Olha, one of the villagers, kept a diary during the captivity, in case no one will survive.
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