This year, the 11 selected projects include the following Ukrainian films:
Noah by director Marysya Nikityuk. Producers: Ihor Savichenko, Hrvoje Osvadić and Sébastien Delloye.
The film’s protagonist is Andriy, a shy IT specialist who enlists in the army to pay for his mother’s medical treatment. Instead of being assigned to a staff position, he finds himself on the front line, where he transforms from a recruit into a battle-hardened soldier with the call sign Thirteen. The film explores moral choices, loss and personal transformation in the context of war.
Screaming Girl directed by Antonio Lukich. Producers: Volodymyr Yatsenko and Anna Yatsenko.
Sasha is a Ukrainian refugee in Dublin who works as a cleaner while helping her mother fulfil her dream of owning a home in Ukraine. Her life changes after she meets Barry, a struggling actor, and following a strange accident that transforms her trauma into a surreal symbol. The film is a story of loss, hope and the ability to carry on despite the wounds left by war.
The selected projects will compete for the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, a €20,000 cash prize awarded to promising international co-production projects at the development stage. The award is intended to support their further development and foster international cooperation between producers.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2026 will take place from 3 to 11 July. The presentation of the KVIFF Central Stage projects is scheduled for 6 July.
It is also worth noting that the festival will host the world premiere of the documentary film To Die to Live (formerly titled The Iron Hundred), directed by Yuliya Hontaruk and produced by Ivanna Khitsinska, Yuliya Hontaruk, Oleksandra Bratyshchenko and Ihor Savichenko. The film, a co-production between Ukraine, Latvia and Slovakia, will be screened in the out-of-competition Special Screenings section, which this year features 13 selected films. It is the winner of the Ukrainian Institute’s proMOTION 2022 programme.
The film tells the stories of three Ukrainian volunteers — Shakhta, Tantsyurist and Honchar — who, in 2014, with no military experience, stepped up to defend Ukraine. After two years on the front line, they tried to return to civilian life, but with the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, they rejoined the ranks of the defenders. Work on the film took 12 years.
Screenings of To Die to Live will take place on 6 and 7 July at the Theatre Karlovy Vary.