Generation Ukraine
Generation Ukraine is a French-German media platform ARTE’s initiative in cooperation with European partners and the Ukrainian Institute to support the Ukrainian documentary filmmaking industry.
About the project
The project will result in 12 documentaries made by Ukrainian filmmakers after the full-scale invasion and co-produced by ARTE. These films explore the Ukrainian reality from the inside, telling about the consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine.
It is the first time Ukrainian documentaries have received such powerful attention, support and funding. The total budget of the project is over a million and half euros. The films will be premiered gradually over the course of 2024-2025. Later, after the festival premieres, the films from Generation Ukraine will be shown on ARTE and added to the platform’s content library.
Pesentation of the Generation Ukraine project in Kyiv
On 16 March, the Ukrainian Institute held a presentation of the Generation Ukraine project with a trailer screening of 12 documentaries at Zhovten Cinema.
Fabrice Puchault, Head of Society and Culture at ARTE, came to Ukraine to present the project.
The event was also attended by Olivier Jacot, Director of the French Institute in Ukraine, Lisa Sirenko, Programme Officer of the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine, and films’ authors from the Generation Ukraine collection.
Read more about the presentation here.
Films
DIRECTOR: OLEKSANDR TKACHENKO
PRODUCTION: ILLIA GLADSHTEIN
(PHALANSTERY FILMS / UKR), BR / ARTE
An artist and filmmaker from Ukraine goes to war and experiences the most extreme film of his life. With his mobile camera always on he desperately tries to preserve his humanity. Originally a Buddhist, vegetarian and pacifist, Dok
ends up in the army’s most dangerous unit, the paratrooper
reconnaissance unit. What kind of man will he return as?
Expected date of delivery: December 2024
DIRECTOR: ROMAN BLAZHAN
PRODUCTION: ROMAN BLAZHAN
(MINIMAL MOVIES / UKR), CHRISTILLA HUILLARD-KANN
(ELDA / FR), ARTE FRANCE
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. What happens to us when we want to forget but the only way to move on is to remember?
Expected date of delivery: February 2024
DIRECTOR: SVITLANA LISHCHYNSKA
PRODUCTION: ANNA KAPUSTINA
(ALBATROS COMMUNICOS UKRAINE / UKR),
FREDRIK LANGE (VILDA BOMBEN FILM AB),
KRISTINA BÖRJESON (FILM I VÄST), ZDF / ARTE
Four generations of women from Mariupol: they have never thought about their national identity. For centuries, their city was culturally orientated towards Russia. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union and even more so after the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, all certainties have been called into question. Where do they belong? Are they a bit foreign everywhere?
Premiere: 2024, February 20th
DIRECTOR: ANDRII LYSETSKYI
PRODUCTION: OLHA BESKHMELNYTSINA, GENNADY KOFMAN,
(MAGIKA / UKR), ULDIS CEKULIS (VFS FILMS / LAT), ERIK WINKER
(CORSO-FILM / GER), MDR / ARTE
Overnight, a group of idiosyncratic Ukrainians from the world of art is thrown into the world of war. Whatever your art is, be it filmmaking, visual arts or restoring historic buildings, you must answer one question: what can you, as an artist, do when the world around you is burning and people are subjected to indescribable suffering? Do you have to adapt, transform yourself and make sense of that world in flames, but can you still do it through art? The film is a visual essay
capturing different stories of artists seeking an answer to that question, each in their own distinctive way.
Expected date of delivery: Summer 2025
DIRECTOR: YEGOR TROYANOVSKY
PRODUCTION: OLHA BESKHMELNYTSINA (2BRAVE / UKR),
CHRISTIAN POPP (TAG FILMS / FR), HANNE PHLYPO
(CLIN D’ŒIL FILMS / BEL), ARTE FRANCE
Leaving their civilian lives behind, two female paramedics Cuba and Alaska go to war. They encounter friendship, love, and acceptance there, but also pain, sorrow, and death. As the prospect of returning to their once peaceful lives slips away, they find solace in creating art and fashion. And they cling to the hope that, in the midst of adversity, a brighter future may yet unfold.
Expected date of delivery: December 2024
DIRECTORS: ALINA GORLOVA, YELIZAVETA SMITH,
MAKSYM NAKONECHNYI, SIMON MOZGOVYI
PRODUCTION: EUGENE RACHKOVSKY (TABOR / UKR),
RALPH WIESER (MISCHIEF FILMS / AUSTRIA), NABIL BELLAHSENE
(LES VALSEURS / FR), SWR / ARTE
This creative documentary film by a Ukrainian collective of director:s documents and observes various scenes and consequences of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.
It shows how the war changes people and living space and
at the same time affects the whole world. The film explores
the nature of war as a process and documents the effects
on the people of Ukraine.
Expected date of delivery: Spring 2026
DIRECTOR: OLHA ZHURBA
PRODUCTION: DARYA BASSEL (MOON MAN / UKR),
ANNE KÖHNCKE (FINAL CUT FOR REAL / DK), KERSTIN ÜBELACKER
(WE HAVE A PLAN / SE), ARTE FRANCE
Displaced is an observational film that explores the phenomena of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It consists of stories that unveil the deep and far-reaching consequences left by the war on both individuals and society as a whole.
Expected date of delivery: Spring 2025
DIRECTOR: OKSANA KARPOVYCH
PRODUCTION: GIACOMO NUDI, ROCÍO B. FUENTES
(FILMS COSMOS / CA), PAULINE TRAN VAN LIEU, LUCIE REGO
(HUTONG PRODUCTIONS / FR), DARYA BASSEL, OLHA
BESKHMELNITSYNA (MOON MAN LLC / UKR), ARTE FRANCE
Ukrainian intelligence services have intercepted thousands of calls Russian soldiers made from the battlefield in Ukraine to their families in Russia. Juxtaposed with images of the destruction and the day-to-day life of the Ukrainian people who rebuild, the voices of the Russian soldiers – ranging from being filled with heroic illusions to complete loss of reason, from looting to committing horrible war crimes, from propaganda to disillusionment – expose the whole scope of the dehumanizing power of war and imperialist nature of the Russian aggression.
Premiere: 2024, February 17th
DIRECTOR: PAVEL CHEREPIN
PRODUCTION: EGOR OLESOV, KATERYNA MIZINA (HEROES
CREATIVE STUDIO / UKR), ANTJE BOEHMERT (DOCDAYS
PRODUCTIONS GMBH / GERMANY), RBB / ARTE
Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and threats by Vladimir Putin have brought back memories of the Cold War. The film shows how dangerous was the attack at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the motivations behind Putin’s provocations,
and how nuclear blackmail can be avoided in the future.
Expected date of delivery: February 2024
DIRECTOR: OLGA GIBELINDA
PRODUCTION: IVANNA KHITSINSKA (QUATROS / UKR),
LOUIS BEAUDEMONT (LES STEPPES / FR), HANA BLAHA
ŠILAROVÁ (FILMS AND CHIPS / CZ), ARTE GEIE
As the Russian invasion in Ukraine is ongoing, three drag queens, Marlen Scandal, Monroe and Aura engage in the war, each in their own way from entering the army to volunteering on the ground. They decide to join forces and organize a drag show to fundraise for the Ukrainian Army. Three characters embark on a personal and political journey that will redefine who they are for themselves and others.
Expected date of delivery: first half of 2025
DIRECTOR: DMYTRO SUKHOLYTKYY-SOBCHUK
PRODUCTION: KARINA KOSTYNA (TABOR / UKR), TANJA GEORGIEVA-
WALDHAUER (ELEMAG PICTURES / GER), MDR / ARTE
The pacifist closed religious community of Kashketnyky lives on
the banks of the Dniester River in Ukraine. They follow their own rules and lifestyle, only regular floods disrupt their lives. Russian full-scale war against Ukraine pushed them to start collecting humanitarian aid and food for the front line. They began to break their own rules and connect with the outside world.
Expected date of delivery: Spring 2025
DIRECTORS: TETIANA HANZA, ZOIA VOLK
PRODUCTION: OKSANA IVANTSIV, REGINA MARYANOVSKA-
DEVIDZON (REAL PICTURES / UKR), ZOIA VOLK
(ZOVA FILMS / GER), SWR / ARTE
Three women in different times and places, a common trauma: rape in war. The film shows how women from Ukraine, Bosnia and Germany manage to regain their strength and dignity. Their unique perspective builds a bridge between the stories, between the wars and different
time levels. They courageously talk about what often remains hidden out of shame and fear.
Expected date of delivery: Spring 2025
Throughout 2022, ARTE representatives attended presentations of Ukrainian documentary film projects at international festivals and selected participants. The Ukrainian Institute contributed expertly, offering a long list of projects at different stages of production. As a result, the teams of 12 documentaries were invited to participate in the Generation Ukraine project.
Workshop ARTE
On January 10-11, 2023, in Strasbourg, France, Ukrainian directors and producers presented their film projects to representatives from various departments of ARTE and their partners. It was a unique opportunity to receive feedback from professionals in the field of documentary filmmaking, find common solutions for future partnerships, and secure funding for upcoming films.
In total, the teams presented 12 Ukrainian film projects covering diverse topics. Participants also had the opportunity to engage with Heidi Fleisher, an American producer and film consultant who moderated the project presentations. Fleisher provided personal consultations to the participants and led a concluding discussion on planning the next steps for the realization of Ukrainian documentary films.
The workshop took place at the Youth European Center, with the support of the Council of Europe and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A Bit of Stranger
Svitlana Lishchynska, Anna Kapustina
Cuba&Alaska
Yegor Troyanovsky, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna
Queens of Joy
Olga Gibelinda, Ivanna Khitsinska
The Days I Would Like To Forget
Alina Gorlova, Eugene Rachkovsky, Karina Kostyna
Displaced
Olga Zhurba, Darya Bassel
Intercepted
Oksana Karpovych, Pauline Tran Van Lieu
Basement 341
Roman Blazhan, Christilla Huillard-Kann
The Blessed Ones
Andrii Lysetskyi, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna
Women Occupied
Tetiana Hanzha, Oksana Ivantsiv
Nucemailing
Yeghor Olesov and Pavlo Cheryepin
Silent Food
Karina Kostyna
Another Man’s Diary
Oleksandr Tkachenko, Illia Gladshtein
About ARTE
ARTE is a European public television channel dedicated to culture. In order to support Ukrainian documentary cinema, particularly films created since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, representatives of the channel developed a separate project with the working title “Generation Ukraine.” This project involves the presentation of Ukrainian documentary films to channel representatives and sales agents, aiming to facilitate funding opportunities and foster collaboration between Ukrainian filmmakers and European partners.