The 12th Kyiv International Short Film Festival (KISFF) will take place from November 16 to 22. For this year's festival, the team has prepared 28 thematic programmes and 50 screenings, which will be held at the Zhovten, KINO42, Ukrainian House cinemas, as well as online on the "TYTR" platform.
The theme for the 12th KISFF festival is "Human after all." According to the team, this quote emerged "after lengthy reflections on the wide range of emotions and experiences that Ukrainians are currently going through."
"Our lives are hanging somewhere between AI technology and deep memory of the past. Our present is filled with courage, fear, and risks. And when it seems that we have already built our defense against external stimuli, it turns out that we are vulnerable inside because, after all, we are humans," explained KISFF.
The emphasis of this year's programme is on films dedicated to "Ukrainian identity, historical memory, and the experience, issues of equality, and the future of AI technology."
In the classic "Ukrainian Competition" programme, they will present the short film "How It Was" by Ukrainian filmmaker Anastasia Solonevich and Polish director Damian Kocur. The film deals with "the awareness of the war experience by Ukrainian refugees," and it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. The programme will also include the animated film "Mariupol: One Hundred Nights" by Sofia Melnyk, which tells the story of a four-year-old girl who survived the siege of Azovstal.
A separate section, developed in collaboration with the Ukrainian House team, focuses on local cinema from various regions of Ukraine, including Crimea, Kherson, and Kyiv. KISFF mentioned that this section explores the "idea of pluralistic Ukrainian identity."
Part of the programme will also feature a retrospective of films by David Lynch, a selection of films that have won the Teddy Award at the Berlinale, and separate thematic programmes dedicated to feminism, gender, and sexuality.
The full programme and schedule will be announced in the near future.
