Showcase “Work in Progress: Screen Ukraine” at Sheffield DocFest

About the project

Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s biggest documentary festival and the third largest in the world.

In 2022, three Ukrainian teams presented their films at the (post) production stage and present Ukraine and its culture.

Representatives of Docudays UA, Ukrainian Institute, and Sheffield DocFest selected three projects, the teams of which received:

  • Participation in the showcase of projects that are under production within the Sheffield DocFest industry program. Leading experts in the field of cinema and distribution will join the event
  • Pitching training (before the event)
  • Covering of travel expenses of 2 team members (director and producer)
  • Visa arrangement assistance
  • Accreditations for 2 team members for Sheffield DocFest
The event was supported by the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute as part of the UK/ Ukraine Season of Culture.

Selected projects

На Sheffield DocFest презентують найактуальніше українське документальне кіно

Fragments of Ice
Director: Maria Stoianova

Producer: Alina Gorlova, Maksym Nakonechnyi

A director’s father, a (post-)Soviet ballet dancer on ice, went on tour to the imaginary West and filmed during the crucial period of the 80s and 90s. Rediscovering his VHS archive means growing up. Along the way, you may have illusions about the desired destination, but you have no doubts about what you want to leave behind.

На Sheffield DocFest презентують найактуальніше українське документальне кіно

Iron Butterflies

Director: Roman Liubyi

Producers: Andrii Kotliar, Volodymyr Tykhyy, David Armati Lechner, Isabelle Bertolone, Mila Zhluktenko

A Butterfly-shaped shrapnel found in the body of the pilot of the flight MH17 leads to the identification of the state, responsible for a war crime that has gone unpunished. “Iron Butterflies” is a hybrid documentary investigating multiple layers around the downing of MH17 in Eastern Ukraine, 2014.

На Sheffield DocFest презентують найактуальніше українське документальне кіно

Expedition 49
Director: Alisa Kovalenko

Producer: Valery Kalmykov, Oleksiy Kobelev, Stéphane Siohan, Tomek Morawski, Kasia Kuczynska

A teenage adventure documentary telling the story of five playful Ukrainian kids stuck on the frontline of Europe’s only hot war for more than half of their young lives. The coal mines where their fathers work are closing, and the teens are choking, looking for a way out, a way to get to the world outside. One day, an old man offers them a chance to walk to the world’s highest mountains: the Himalayas.