A Ukrainian stand will be presented at the Mifa Market animation content market, which takes place as part of the world's largest animation film festival in Annecy (France, 8-14 June 2025). At MIFA PITCHES, where projects from around the world are selected from hundreds of applications, the authors will also present their upcoming films to key players in the animation industry.
On 10 June, there will be a meeting for programmers of animation festivals from around the world. Among the invited guests is Anastasiya Verlinska, director of the LINOLEUM animation festival, which will take place in Kyiv from 1 to 5 October.
On 11 and 12 June, MIFA PITCHES will present upcoming short and documentary animated films by Ukrainian directors as part of the festival in Annecy:
– Red Zone, dir. Iryna Tsilyk (France, Luxembourg, Ukraine)
What is the end of the world for some is just another day for others. Director, poet, military wife and mother of a teenager, Iryna Tsilik captures a typical day in Kyiv during wartime. A film about resistance and beautiful, strong people in dark times.
– Kateryna, dir. Mari Yanko (France, Ukraine)
An animated documentary about how the Russian-Ukrainian war is portrayed on social media, told through the eyes of a webcam model who becomes a soldier.
– Damned, dir. Nataliya Velykhanova (France)
This immersive film explores the consequences of ecocide after the explosion of a dam in Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine, in 2023. The project sheds light on the forgotten victims of man-made natural disasters: animals and the environment.
Iryna Tsilyk will also take part in The Animated Documentary conference dedicated to animated documentaries. Speakers include the award-winning Israeli-Danish animator Uri Krano and The New York Times producer Lindsay Cruz. The event will take place on 13 June.
Another event involving the Ukrainian delegation is MIFA Partners Pitch. The BLACK SEA ANIMATION SHORTS film programme will be presented there. It consists of five films from different countries that tell new and vivid stories from the Black Sea region. Among them is the Ukrainian film Frescoes of Memory by Oleksandra Dzhyhanska. During the development stage, the film was part of the LINOLEUM UK/UA Animation Lab programme (supported by the British Council Ukraine), where the director had the opportunity to be mentored by a British director.
The Ukrainian stand at the Annecy festival is organised by the Ukrainian Film Association with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency and the French Institute in Ukraine.