Ukrainian Film Festival 2026 in Kyoto

Join us in Kyoto for two days of Ukrainian cinema at The Museum of Kyoto. The programme presents four remarkable films reflecting Ukraine’s history, cultural traditions, present-day reality and extraordinary human resilience.

The Kyoto programme will also feature an opening ceremony with special guests, a lecture by Professor Uenishi, and a talk with the director and producer of Second Wind. We warmly invite you to experience these stories together and discover Ukraine through cinema.

Important Correction to the Printed Brochure

An error appears in the introduction to the film Palyanytsia in the printed brochure.

Incorrect: Saturday, October 17 — Kyoto

Correct: Saturday, October 17 — Tokyo

We sincerely apologise for this error and any inconvenience it may have caused. The full festival schedule is correct; please refer to it to confirm the screening dates, times, and venues.

You can also download the brochure in Japanese and Ukrainian

As part of the film festival, you can watch the following films:

• Honeymoon February 2022, a town near Kyiv. Taras and Olia spend the first night in their new apartment. At dawn, explosions begin. Trapped in their flat with no utilities as Russian troops occupy the building, the couple explores the black abyss of intimacy and faces crucial existential questions in mortal danger.

  
  

• Family Album British photographer Samara Pearce follows the footsteps of her great-grandfather, Alexander Wienerberger, who captured rare photos of the 1933 Holodomor. Samara returns to the Kharkiv region to document the current war, testifying that the genocide of Ukrainians continues today.
  

• Malanka and Christmas This film captures the Malanka celebration just before the full-scale invasion and the first Christmas in de-occupied territories. It follows Dmytro Mazuriak, a musician and craftsman of Hutsul instruments, who has spent 15 years preserving this tradition in his village to bring hope through cultural revival.
  

• Second Wind The film tells the story of a group of Ukrainian veterans with amputations who climbed the famous Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.

Screening Schedule

Saturday, October 17, 2026

• 13:30–16:00 — Family Album (80 min).

The Ukrainian Film Festival in Kyoto will open with a ceremony.

After the ceremony, Professor Junichi Uenishi will give a brief introduction to the film's background before the screening of Family Album.

After the screening, Professor Uenishi will offer further commentary on the film, providing the audience with a valuable opportunity to deepen their understanding of the work.

Professor Junichi Uenishi Profile

Professor Uenishi taught world history for many years at Kyoto Prefectural high schools. He currently serves as Kansai Advisor to the Ukraine support organisation “Sakura and Sunflower.”

Following russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he became involved in various activities supporting Ukraine.

He also shares lectures on Ukrainian history through his YouTube channel and raises awareness of problematic representations of Ukraine in Japanese high school world history textbooks.

• 17:00 — Malanka and Christmas (92 min).

Sunday, October 18, 2026

• 13:30–16:00 — Second Wind (75 min). After the screening: A talk event with the film’s director and producer, with Ukrainian–Japanese interpretation.

• 17:00 — Honeymoon (84 min).

  
  

Admission

The screenings can be attended with a general exhibition admission ticket:

• Adults: ¥600

• University students: ¥400

• High-school students and younger: free

Venue

The Museum of Kyoto

3F Film Theatre

Official Museum website:

 https://www.bunpaku.or.jp/

Address

623-1 Higashikatamachi, Takakura-dori, Sanjo-agaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8183