DocuDays in Kiev Ukraine
… is a festival that I like a lot – because of its atmosphere, its dedication to what is going on in the world, its always innovative set-up, and critical approach to its own country and its social and political conditions – and because of the people, who stand behind the festival with a good nose for good films. I will be there again this year: March 23 is the opening.
The content of this year’s film programme has been revealed step by step. For the first time there will be an Ukrainian feature length competition, DOCU/UKRAINE, with 6 films, there is a DOCU/WORLD with 12 films and a DOCU/SHORT with 12 films as well. Not to forget, not in competition as the sections mentioned, DOCU/BEST with 5 films ”about struggle”. About that the following great text is taken from the website of the festival, written by one of the brave women of the festival, Viktoriya Leshchenko:
”Birth, struggle, death, rebirth are the climax points for each human being who resists, who fights, who never gives up, who is ready to smile in the face of the predetermined hopelessness. The media world whispers: we are masters of our own fate, and as soon as you start to believe in success, the hard shell of circumstances will give in under the pressure of social media calls. Let us now dive into a less popular truth about how courage is the only life measure. Kierkegaardian courage, with which every protagonist of these films accepts their challenges every moment, deserves admiring attention. This year, let us focus our eyes on the Philippines, Ukraine, Congo, Aleppo and Tel Aviv, on the places where people constantly meet challenges regardless of their sex, gender, status and the documentary filmmaker who records their difficult struggle.”
The five are ”Delta” (PHOTO) by Oleksandr Techynskyi, ”Bobbi Jene” by Elvira Lind, ”Makala” by Emmanuel Gras, ”Last Men in Aleppo” by Feras Fayyad and ”Motherland” by Ramona S. Diaz. More on
