THE UKRAINIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN ALBERTA
CALGARY 4-6 APRIL 2025
EDMONTON 11-13 APRIL 2025
𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2025)
𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰 (2024)
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (2023)
𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 (2024)
𝘜𝘴, 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳 (2024)
𝘜 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 (2024)
𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2025)
𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰 (2024)
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (2023)
𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 (2024)
𝘜𝘴, 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳 (2024)
𝘜 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 (2024)
ABOUT
This year, the Ukrainian Film Festival in Alberta (UFFA) will showcase a selection of contemporary films about Ukraine in Edmonton and Calgary. These critically acclaimed films have received international recognition and won numerous awards.
Over two weekends, festival-goers will have the opportunity to experience some of the most outstanding works of contemporary Ukrainian cinema.
The UFFA is co-organized by the Alberta Society for the Advancement of Ukrainian Studies and the Forum for Ukraine Studies, an analytical publication project of the Contemporary Ukraine Studies Program at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta. The festival is held in cooperation with the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre at MacEwan University and with financial support from the City of Calgary.
See our previous film schedules here: 2023 | 2024
LOCATIONS
Calgary | Globe Cinema
Formerly the Towne Cinema, Globe Cinema has been providing Calgary with independent and art house entertainment since 1995, and is dedicated to bringing quality 1st run films as well as participating in many of the wonderful film festivals Calgary has to offer.
Edmonton | Metro Cinema at the Garneau Theatre
The Metro Cinema is housed in the historic Garneau Theatre - the oldest cinema hall in Edmonton, known for its long history and independent film screenings. This year it will host a Ukrainian Film Festival in Edmonton for the third time.
FILMS
Film Premiere. With exclusive Q&A with film producers
Horizons of Belonging (2025)
Film by Steven Brese and Oleksandr Pankieiev
What does it mean to be a Ukrainian newcomer in Alberta? A film crew followed four Ukrainian families over a year in Edmonton and Calgary as they navigated the challenges of rebuilding their lives after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Horizons of Belonging is a deeply personal exploration of identities, displacement and belonging, shedding light on what it means to be a modern Ukrainian, and ‘start over’ in a new country.
Join us for an exclusive Q&A after each screening.
Calgary Screening:
5 April 2025 | 7 p.m.
Edmonton Screening:
11 April 2025 | 6 p.m.
Under the Volcano (2024)
Film by Damian Kocur
A family—father Roman, stepmother Anastasiia, teenage daughter Sofiia, and young son Fedir—are enjoying their final day at the beach, unaware that their return flight to Kyiv will soon be cancelled as Russian bombs begin to fall. On 24 February 2022 their lives are abruptly upended, and while anxiously awaiting news from home, they are left to grapple with the uncertainty of their future. Amidst the idyllic surroundings of the Canary Islands, the family’s inner conflicts and guilt rise to the surface, revealing the emotional paradox of being in a safe place while their homeland is under siege. As tensions within the family grow, dormant issues threaten to erupt, much like the nearby volcano.
Calgary Screening:
6 April 2025 | 4:30 p.m.
Edmonton Screening:
11 April 2024 | 9 p.m.
Us, Our Pets, and the War (2024)
Film by Anton Ptushkin
Highlights the stories of people and their pets during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s armed aggression forced many people to leave their homes for places outside the war zone. While fleeing the war, people also saved the lives of their own as well as countless abandoned animals: cats, dogs, bears, lions, chameleons, lemurs, and more. The film also features famous pets such as Patron the dog and Shafa the cat.
Calgary Screening:
4 April 2025 | 7:00 p.m.
Edmonton Screening:
13 April 2025 | 4:30 p.m.
Intercepted (2024)
Film by Oksana Karpovych
Ukrainian intelligence services have intercepted thousands of phone calls made by Russian soldiers from the battlefields in Ukraine to their families and friends in Russia, painting a stark picture of the cruelty of war. With heightened emotional tension, images of the destruction caused by the invasion are juxtaposed with the daily lives of Ukrainian people who resist and rebuild. The overlaid voices of the Russian soldiers range from delusional heroism to complete disappointment and loss of reason, from looting to committing more horrible war crimes, from propaganda to doubt and disillusionment, exposing the whole spectrum of the dehumanizing power of war and the imperialist nature of Russia’s aggression.
Edmonton Screening:
12 April 2025 | 5:00 p.m.
Forever-Forever (2023)
Film by Anna Buryachkova
After transferring from a downtown high school, Tonia joins a new gang that roams the post-socialist suburbs of late-1990s Kyiv, having fun and getting into trouble. Soon, Tonia gets caught up in an alluring secret love triangle, but her troubled past still haunts her. Will she be able to find her way, or will she lose herself in this risky new friendship? Some things only exist in the moment, while others last forever.
Edmonton Screening:
13 April 2025 | 9:15 p.m.
Calgary Screening:
5 April 2025 | 4:30 p.m.
U Are the Universe (2024)
Film by Pavlo Ostrikov
In the near future, Ukrainian space trucker Andriy Melnyk transports nuclear waste aboard his cargo ship to Jupiter’s deserted moon Callisto. During a routine flight, the Earth suddenly explodes, but Andriy manages to survive. He becomes the last person in the universe until he receives a call from Catherine, a French woman on a distant space station. Defying all obstacles, Andriy decides to find her.
Edmonton Screening:
12 April 2025 | 9:00 p.m.
Rule of Two Walls (2023)
Film by David Gutnik
The film presents Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a war of memory, identity, and truth. Using live music performance, painting, street art, and the act of filmmaking itself, it aims to illuminate the psychological front lines of the new reality: going to a restaurant amid the near-constant blare of air-raid alerts and missile strikes; and processing, reacting, and resisting while attending to the rhythms of daily life. Blurring the lines between what is in front of and behind the camera, the film probes what it means to make cinema in times of war.
Calgary Screening:
6 April 2025 | 7:00 p.m.
SCHEDULE
