Kyiv, Ukraine. June 5, 2026. Docudays UA film festival at Zhovten Cinema. By Docudays UA/Zavhorodnii

Docudays UA Zavhorodnii

International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Kyiv Continues Under Air Raid Alerts as War Shapes Stories

Amid air-raid alerts, only days after Russia launched hundreds of Shahed drones and dozens of missiles against Ukraine — and only days before Russia struck central Kyiv, including the historic Pechersk Lavra Monastery and two major cultural sites, the Dovzhenko Film Studio and Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex — Ukraine’s capital hosted the 23rd International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Docudays UA.

“In case of an air raid alert, you all must leave the movie theater and go to the nearest shelter, which is Kontraktova Ploshcha subway station or any other shelter,” an announcement said before each screening, reminding audiences of safety procedures in case Russia launched another attack on the capital. “When it’s over, we can all come back here and finish the screening. We resume the screening 10 minutes after the air raid alert is lifted. If it doesn't, please follow the announcements on the Telegram channel. ”

The program included 82 films from 36 countries across four continents, including 33 Ukrainian films, as well as panel discussions and industry talks, drawing hundreds of attendees to three venues in central Kyiv from June 5–12.

The top prize in the international competition went to “Green Light,” directed by Pavel Cuzuioc (Austria/Romania, 2025), which tells the story of a psychiatrist supporting people who have chosen euthanasia to end their suffering.

The Grand Prize in the DOCU/Ukraine competition went to “Don’t Ask Me If I Killed”, directed by Helena Maksyom. Filmed over almost three years of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the documentary is Maksyom’s personal, raw, and thoughtful account of the war as she joined Ukraine’s armed forces and documented her experience in combat.

The Audience Favorite Award went to “Where Everything Disappears”, directed by Oleksandr Tkachenko. The documentary follows Dmytro “Dok” Dokunov, a nature and peace-loving cinematographer drafted into the Ukrainian army, who uses his phone to document his transition from civilian to frontline soldier.

Among the 82 films in the program, many addressed war, injustice, and abuse, underscoring how conflict affects societies beyond the front lines. The Lebanese documentary feature “Do You Love” Me by Lana Daher takes viewers through Lebanon’s past. The film is composed entirely of archival video clips from various angles, showing life and destruction in Beirut over decades.

Ukrainian filmmakers focused on documenting war crimes through an artistic lens while preserving factual accuracy.

“Traces", a Ukrainian-Polish documentary directed by Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk, follows six Ukrainian women who survived sexual violence and torture after Russia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine in 2014. The film addresses the stigma surrounding sexual violence in wartime.

“I remained silent myself for almost two years, and when I started talking about it, I found out that I was the first woman to speak publicly about sexual violence in Russian captivity,” Kovalenko said during a discussion following the screening. Kovalenko herself survived sexual violence while held captive in Donbas. She said the film became a way to amplify survivors' voices.

Giving voice to survivors and documenting life during wartime through film carries particular urgency during the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the 11th year since the war began in 2014. Holding a festival of this scale in Kyiv amid ongoing missile and drone attacks underscored the conditions under which Ukrainian cultural institutions continue to operate.

“I’m a person of older age,” said one of the survivors featured in “Traces” during the post-screening discussion before a full house at Zhovten Cinema. “I wanted to hide from the entire world and not show my face to anybody. But thanks to these brave women who are by my side, I’m standing here in front of you today and speaking about what happened to us.”

Docudays UA is yet another confirmation that Russia’s war in Ukraine is well documented, and the horrific accounts of war crimes will not disappear from history.