proMOTION — programme of systematic support of international promotion of Ukrainian cinema
proMOTION is a long-term programme, developed by the Ukrainian Institure, that aims to support the international promotion of Ukrainian films
About this programme
The proMOTION programme is designed to increase the presence of Ukrainian cinema on the international market and its recognition in the foreign information space.
The aim of the programme is to develop the competencies and strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian filmmakers for representation abroad and systematic international cooperation, in particular with professional film marketing agencies.
Programme tasks
- to increase the number of Ukrainian films in the official selection of international film festivals and in the programmes of foreign cinemas;
- to help Ukrainian films reach a wider audience abroad and increase the recognition of Ukrainian filmmakers in the international market;
- to involve international experts at the stage of film production for effective promotion activities;
- to help filmmakers develop skills of international distribution and marketing communications;
- to increase the visibility of Ukraine and Ukrainian film products in the media space abroad.
What film projects can be submitted to the programme
- At the final stages of production
- Ready to plan a festival distribution
- Ready to plan a theatrical distribution
Winners of the programme proMOTION 2024
Results 2024
Council of Europe’s co-production fund Eurimages and the Ukrainian Institute have reached agreements to extend their partnership in 2024 as part of the proMOTION programme supporting the international promotion of Ukrainian films in 2024.
Seven film projects to receive up to 8,000 euros for promoting their film abroad were selected Throughout the year. The winner of the first competition was announced in April, the second competition commission chose four more winning projects, and the winners of the third proMOTION 2024 programme open call are two films.
The documentary Militantropos explores the nature of war through the stories of people experiencing it. The observational film showcases how war transforms lives: some take up arms, others lose their homes, and some begin to rebuild. The film focuses on both collective and individual experiences, transitioning from wide-scale destruction to intimate human faces. Militantropos serves as both a testament to the times and an exploration of humanity’s adaptation to war.
The documentary Cuba & Alaska follows Cuba and Alaska, two female paramedics working on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. Before the war, Cuba was a fashion designer, and Alaska worked in media. Their lives changed dramatically, yet their friendship and dedication help them persevere. The film captures their strength, courage, and dreams of peace, despite loss and hardship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The film captures the transformation in the daily lives of Ukrainians following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Russian soldiers made thousands of unauthorized phone calls from the battlefield in Ukraine to their families and friends in Russia. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian special services have been regularly intercepting and posting these private conversations online. Bit by bit, the voices of Russians not only reveal to the world the course of the so-called “special operation” but also the process of dehumanization and demoralization of its executors – from harboring heroic illusions to complete disillusionment and loss of sanity, from looting to committing the most horrific war crimes.
The film is part of the Generation Ukraine project, featuring 12 documentaries made by Ukrainian directors after February 24, 2022, about the impact of the Russian invasion, co-produced by ARTE. Its world premiere took place in the Forum section of the 74th Berlin Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury and a Special Mention for Ecumenical Award.
Winners of the programme proMOTION 2023
Results 2023
In 2023, the proMOTION programme was fully implemented in partnership with Eurimages. Throughout the year, an international commission conducted three open calls, selecting 7 film projects to receive up to 8000 euros each for promoting their films abroad.
The plot revolves around Yura, a young researcher at a local museum, who witnesses a forest fire. The protagonist brings photos of the perpetrators to the local newspaper’s editorial office with the intention of exposing them.
This documentary film consists of archival footage shot by the director’s father, a figure skater from the famous “Ballet on Ice” ensemble. The film explores the history of Ukraine’s maturation between the illusion of the “Western paradise” and the hardships of the Soviet era.
This documentary essay takes the viewer on a journey through the trials and tribulations of a Ukrainian family originally from Donetsk. Forced to leave their home during the war in 2014 and again in 2022 when the enemy knocked on their door in Kyiv, the director immerses herself in a kaleidoscope of memories and chronicles her own and collective experiences.
The story of teenagers growing up takes place in one of the Kyiv schools in the late 1990s. 15-year-old Tonya, in search of salvation from a dangerous guy, becomes a member of the new school gang, where she meets her first love and first adult problems.
A tragicomedy about an amateur theater in Volyn. Seeking to overcome his personal crisis, а renowned big city actor Petro returns from the capital city to his native village to create a theatre with his fellow villagers, thus proving to himself what he is still capable of.
The documentary tells the story of the growing up of teenagers from the East of Ukraine against the backdrop of the war. One day, a well-known adventurer and traveler in Ukraine, Valentyn Shcherbachov, invites them to participate in a unique therapy expedition to the Himalayas and gives them the opportunity to break free for the first time and open new horizons in their lives.
Ukraine, 1996. 5 months before the moratorium on the death penalty. Two old friends—a police detective and a forensic psychiatrist—are investigating the murder of a colleague whose widow both of them loved when they were young. Immersed in memories of the past, they unconsciously create a future in which their children will have to live, reaping the fruits of their parents’ lost hopes.
Winners of the programme proMOTION 2022
In 2022, the Ukrainian Institute supported 5 film projects with the greatest international potential. The winners received up to
UAH 300 000 for international promotion services.
Documentary, drama
Director: Yuliia Hontaruk
Producers: Yuliia Hontaruk, Ivanna Khitsinska, Alexandra Bratyshchenko, Uldis Cekulis, Igor Savychenko
Production company: #Babylon’13, VFS Films
Country: Ukraine, Latvia
Feature full-length, tragicomedy
Director: Antonio Lukic
Producers: Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Yatsenko
Production company: ForeFilms
Country: Ukraine
Opposite twin brothers learn that their father, who left them as a child, dies in distant Luxembourg. One of the brothers, Kolya, decides to go to him, while the other, Vasyl, does his best to prevent his brother from leaving the country. The many obstacles that Kohl encounters are more like a test of courage: now Kohl, who is used to running away from problems, does not give up even when there is no way out. Eventually, unexpectedly for themselves, the two brothers go to meet their father. However, will this journey live up to the brothers’ expectations?
Documentary
Director: Dmytro Hreshko
Producer: Polina Herman
Production company: UP UA Studio
Country: Ukraine
The villagers get born, get married, celebrate… and eventually die. Life is too short to be put on pause. It seems the life cycle in this village will last forever, but will its people be able to survive if the next pandemic is more deadly? Life in the village continues, and the ambulance workers are always ready to come to the rescue.
Feature full-length debut, drama
Director: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
Producers: Aleksandra Kostina at Bosonfilm (Ukraine), Jane Yatsuta (Ukraine); Laura Briand at Les Films d’Ici (France); Bogna Szewczyk and Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska at Madants (Poland); Giancarlo Nasi at Quijote Films (Chile)
Production company: Bosonfilm in partnership with Les Films D’Ici, MADANTS, Quijote, Mainstream pictures, Soilfilms
Country: Ukraine, France, Chile, Poland, Germany, Luxemburg
Western Ukraine, on the eve of a traditional carnival. Pamfir returns to his family after months of absence. Their love is so unconditional that when his only child starts a fire in the prayer house, Pamfir has no other choice but to reconnect with his troubled past to repair his son’s fault. He will be taken on a risky path with irreversible consequences.
Feature full-length debut.
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Producers: Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Yatsenko
Production company: ForeFilms
Country: Ukraine
A coming-of-age story, based on Artem Chekh “Who are you?” autobiographical novel about relationships between a teenager and broken adults in Ukraine, 1990s. One day Tymophiy befriends a Felix – an Afghanistan war veteran, who has has PTSD and he loves classical music…
In 2022, the Ukrainian Institute will provide the promotion of five film projects* abroad, which, as a result of expert evaluation, will score higher than others, up to UAH 300,000, including all mandatory taxes and fees.
Requirements for applicants:
- A production company registered in Ukraine.
- An agreement with the author of the film project on the transfer of exclusive property rights to the film.
- No financial debts.
- Professional experience.
- Experience of international cooperation and confirmed partnerships will be an advantage.
- The activities and position of the applicant do not contradict the principles and values of the Ukrainian Institute.
Legal entities of all forms of ownership (production companies) and sole proprietors registered in Ukraine, who have exclusive property rights to the film project and its use in any form and in any way in the territory, on which the promotion within the proMOTION program is foreseen, can submit a competitive application.
During the current calendar year, the same legal entity/sole proprietor may submit no more than two applications with different film projects for art competitions organized by the Ukrainian Institute.
Services of the promotion of film projects selected as a result of the competition may be provided between May 10th and December 10th, 2022.
All questions regarding the competitive documentation can be sent to [email protected].
* The Ukrainian Institute reserves the right to recognize 6 (six) film projects as winners of the Art Competition if the list of projects with the highest scores relative to others includes two short films with the total cost of both film projects up to UAH 300,000.00 (three hundred thousand hryvnias 00 kopecks) including all mandatory taxes and fees.
Given the full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute reserves the right to adapt the programme to the current situation, in particular to ensure the promotion abroad of fewer film projects and/or to a lesser extent.
- Lukian Halkin, executive producer of UA: Culture TV channel, film critic, lecturer of two-year programmes of Kyiv Academy of Media Arts
- Viktor Hlon, selector and programme coordinator of the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival and AIFF / American Film Festival “Independence”, film expert
- Alina Horlova, film director, producer of documentary and feature films
- Maksym Nakonechnyi, film director, screenwriter, and producer of documentary and feature films (Alina Horlova and Maksym Nakonechnyi will evaluate together on behalf of the independent film studio TABOR Production)
Winners of the programme proMOTION 2021
In 2021, the Ukrainian Institute supported 3 film projects with the greatest international potential. The winners received up to
UAH 150 000 for international promotion services.
Director: Ihor Ivanko
Producers: Mariia Ponomarova, Oleksandra Bratyshchenko, Igor Ivanko, Peter Kerekes
Production company: Burlaka Films
Country: Ukraine, Slovakia
Director: Christina Tynkevych
Producers: Olha Matat, Vlad Dudko
Production company: Evos Film
Country: Ukraine
Director: Maksym Nakonechnyi
Producers: Daria Bassel, Elisabeth Smith
Production company: TABOR Production
Country: Ukraine, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden
2) SMM-support of the project: development of a strategy for promotion in social networks, creation of visual materials and posts, management of social platforms, promotion of posts (targeting), monitoring, working with opinion leaders, critics).
3) Services of design and printing of English-language promotional materials:
– Design and production of models of promotional materials (international poster, press kit, character book, postcards, programs, invitations, etc.);
– Layout, resizing, and colour correction;
– Printing (exclusively for distribution to foreign audience);
– Distribution of promotional materials: placement in the print and online press (banners, prerolls, site branding, etc.), on external media, on radio and television.
4) Technical Services:
– production of DCP (Digital Cinema Package) and other formats;
– creation of subtitles for video materials.
5) Production of video materials and videos for the promotion of the film project abroad.
6) Services for translation, proofreading and correction of text materials in foreign languages.
short film
Film director: Dekel Berenson
Producers: Vitalii Sheremetiev, Olha Beskhmelnitsyna
Production company: “Esse Production House”. Co-production of Ukraine, Great Britain, and Israel
The film premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or – Best Short Film (Golden Palm is the main award of the festival in the short film category). The film was also shortlisted for BAFTA and won Best British Short at the 22nd British Independent Film Awards. Now the film has a great chance to be among the nominees for the Oscar in 2021.
This film is about Anna, a middle-aged woman who lives in eastern Ukraine with her teenage daughter. She works at a meat processing plant and is desperate for change for the better in her life. One day she hears an announcement about a party where foreign men are looking for love and want to meet Ukrainian women. To change her routine, Anna decides to attend a party.
documentary, animation, cinéma vérité
Directors: Uliana Osovska, Denys Strashnyi
Producers: Denys Strashnyi, Uliana Osovska. Co-producer: Ülo Pikkov (Estonia)
Production company: “Dokutoloka”
Back in Soviet times, Anatolii Liutiuk left Ukraine and lived as a monk in the worldly life in the centre of Tallinn. For the last 20 years he has been praying daily for the preservation of nature and all living things on earth. He spends all his time in workshops, where he makes wooden toys and books using ancient monastery technology. When the war in Ukraine begins, Anatolii cannot stay away. Enlisting the support of the Estonian government, he travels to Donbas with humanitarian aid in search of those who need it most. In his travels along the front line, he learns about the lives and needs of local residents and delves deeper into the harsh reality of the “gray zone”.
documentary
Director: Hanna Yaroshevych
Producer: Olena Yakovitska
Production company: “Tabor”
Michel is a young German who lives in a small village in the Carpathians and breeds and rescues an endangered species of water buffalo. He lived in Ukraine for 10 years on an old farm, studied the local dialect and became known as the “last friend of buffaloes”. Thanks to Michel’s work, the population of Carpathian buffaloes increased from a few dozen heads to more than two hundred. While thousands of Ukrainians emigrate to earn money abroad, a foreigner chooses a radically different solution – moving to live in Ukraine to become useful to the community and find a lifetime project. Watching Michel’s life, we acquaint viewers from all over the world with the culture and incredible nature of the Ukrainian Carpathians, we see that Ukraine is interesting to foreigners as a tourist destination, and even more – a place to live.
documentary
Director: Alina Horlova
Producers: Maksym Nakonechnyi, Ilona Bichevska, Patrick Hamm
Production company: “Tabor”
Co-production of Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, and Qatar
The film follows 20-year-old Andriy Suleyman as he tries to secure a sustainable future while navigating the human toll of armed conflict. From the Syrian civil war to strife in Ukraine, Andriy’s existence is framed by the seemingly eternal flow of life and death.
coming-of-age drama
Director: Kateryna Hornostai
Producers: Vitalii Sheremetiev, Olha Beskhmelnitsyna, Viktoriia Khomenko, Nataliia Libet
Production company: “Esse Production House”
Full-length feature debut, coming-of-age drama. A story about the first sensual experience, love, friendship, and responsibility. 16-year-old Masha is going through a busy routine in the last year before graduating from school. She is supported by close friends Yana and Sienia, who share this experience with her, as well as parents who are very worried about their daughter, but raise her in freedom of action and thought. There is another detail in Masha’s life that gives her a hard time and prevails in her thoughts – classmate Sasha, who will become a test of her courage at a crucial moment.
