The selection committee behind the projects evaluation included Vika Leshchenko, producer and curator, programmer for the International Documentary program at DOK Leipzig; Dennis Ruh, Film and Media Industry Expert, Director of the European Film Market (2020-2024); Sergio García de Leániz, Project Manager at Eurimages, curator of the Promotion Programme; Nataliia Movshovych, Head of the Film at the Ukrainian Institute; Iryna Kyporenko, Film Programme Manager at the Ukrainian Institute.  

The selected projects are: 

• “You Are the Universe”, dir. Pavlo Ostrikov, prod. Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Yatsenko 

Future. Ukrainian space trucker Andriy Melnyk transports nuclear waste on the cargo ship to the abandoned Jupiter’s satellite Callisto. During his routine flight, the Earth explodes. Pieces of the planet destroy everything in their path at breakneck speed, but Andriy manages to hide his spaceship behind Callisto. He becomes the last person in the Universe, but after some time, Catherine – a French scientist from a space station near Saturn gets in touch. They are completely different and far from each other, but every day Andriy and Catherine want to meet each other more and more. Even if it will be their last trip.

• “Dad’s Lullaby”, dir. Lesia Diak, prod. Lesia Diak, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin, Hrvoje Osvadić 

This documentary drama tells the story of Serhiy, who returns home after three years of participating in the war. Now he is torn between two battles: with his past and his present, which includes his wife and three sons. Reality begins to fall apart when his wife Nadya becomes pregnant, and Serhiy realizes how much the trauma of war hinders his return to family life. 

• “Songs of Slow Burning Earth”, dir. Olga Zhurba, prod. Darya Bassel 

An audiovisual diary of the first two years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine shows how the reality of war becomes normal in a peaceful country. The film was shot at various distances from the 3,000 km front line and consists of different places, random characters, and rare dialogues. The sound evolves from fragmented chords of panic and horror accompanying the mass evacuation during the first weeks of the invasion to the numb silence of final acceptance of war, which becomes the norm for local residents and the rest of the world. The world premiere of the film will take place at this year’s Venice Film Festival. 

• “Flowers of Ukraine”, dir. Adelina Borets, prod. Glib Lukianets, Natalia Grzegorzek 

A strong, independent and anarchist woman full of humor sets out to protect her piece of land against all odds. Her struggle becomes even more existential with the attack on Ukraine, never giving up and bringing to the viewers sense of hope.  

In 2024, the Ukrainian Institute continues to implement the programme in collaboration with Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe.  

Throughout the year, at least seven film projects will be selected to receive up to 8,000 euros for promoting their film abroad. The winner of the first competition was announced in April. Film projects that were not selected in the first and second competitions can be submitted for the third one.