Ukrainian Talents at NOWNESS

Ukrainian Talents at NOWNESS showcases three exclusive short films produced by Ukrainian filmmakers under the creative guidance of the Nowness.com and Takflix.com teams, with distribution planned on both online platforms.

The project aims to promote contemporary Ukrainian culture and talent to a global audience by producing high-quality audiovisual content and effectively distributing it. 

From a pool of applicants, three standout projects were selected for the project. These projects undergo a full cycle of creative management, from idea conceptualization to final promotion. In addition, the teams behind these projects receive full funding for all film production costs, allowing them to focus solely on realizing their creative vision.

Dovecots of Kyiv

From the late 1940s to the late 1980s, doves were an obsession for boys in Kyiv. This film is about how a childhood hobby becomes a meaning of life.

• Director/DOP/Edit – Mykhailo Volkov
• Starring – Hryhoriy Bybynenko, Marat Madiani, Mark Parubets
• Producer – Roman Blazhan
• 1AC/2nd Camera – Andriy Noha
• Sound Engineer – Viktor Konkevych
• Sound Mixing Mastering – Anima Sound Design
• Translator – Nina Tararuieva, Hanna Ostrovska
• Running time – 10 minutes

Watch Dovecots of Kyiv on Takflix.

It’s a Date

This is a story about the capital of the country, where a full-scale war is taking place, but life in all its manifestations does not stop. The film looks like a high-speed drive through Kyiv at dawn, shot in one take. In the finale, when the car stops, we see a female driver in camouflage for the first time. She gets out and hugs a woman in civilian clothes. It’s a date.

The film was selected for the International Short Film Competition at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival, where it received a special mention from the International Jury and was nominated for a Teddy Award.

• Writer & director – Nadia Parfan
• Starring — Diana Berg, Olena “Tiger”
• DOP — Denys Melnyk
• Editing – Nadia Parfan
• Sound recordist – Yevhenii Chaban
• Sound mix & design – Margaryta Kulichova
• Colour – Maryna Tkachenko
• Line Producer – Kyrylo Rybiantsev
• Producers – Iryna Kovalchuk, Illia Gladshtein, Nadia Parfan
• Running time – 5 minutes

Watch It’s a Date on Takflix

The Jump (work-in-progress)

This short dance film explores the relationship between Kyiv residents and our post-Soviet architectural heritage – the modernist apartment blocks that have infiltrated every part of the city.

Set on a roof above the concrete jungle, the dance unfolds to the soundtrack of Karchata, a tender Ukrainian folk ballad with a jazz touch. Today’s Kyiv is a chaotic mix of our past and present. The question is, how do we rightfully own this past to move forward?

• Director – Christina Tynkevych
• Starring – Oleksii Bazela, Nadia Kupets
• DOP – Vladislav Voronin
• Producers – Maksym Asadchy
• Running time – 3 minutes

Production of the film has been temporarily suspended due to martial law.

The project is due to be presented to an international audience in the summer of 2023 on the Nowness platform.