Yellow Blue Business Platform has compiled a selection of 10 of the most interesting Ukrainian films. These cover various genres: a science fiction movie about the last man in the universe, a comedy about parent-child problems, action movies based on the stories of Ukrainian soldiers, and an atmospheric documentary about life in a small village in the south of the country.
Fiction films
Crime drama “Pamfir” / “Памфір”
IMDb: 7.4. Rotten Tomatoes: 94% from critics, 100% from the audience.
About the film. Smuggler Leonid, known as Pamfir, returns to his native village in western Ukraine and decides to earn a living through honest work. But when his teenage son Nazarii accidentally sets fire to a church, he returns to his troubled past to pay for the damages. In a corrupt village, there is no chance that the boy will be forgiven for such a mistake. Meanwhile, the villagers are preparing for an atmospheric Ukrainian winter holiday — Malanka.
Why it’s worth watching. The world premiere of “Pamfir” took place at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022; after the screening, the audience applauded for over 6 minutes. The film won 39 prestigious film awards, such as the Grand Prix at the annual Cairo International Film Festival. It was also highly praised by critics — The Guardian included it in its selection of the best films of 2023.
About the director. Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk is a 42-year-old Ukrainian actor and director. “Pamfir” is his debut feature film. The director’s previous works were short films that participated in international events such as the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Where to watch:
Historical film “The Guide” / “Поводир”
IMDb: 7.6. Rotten Tomatoes: 80% from the audience.
About the film. American engineer Michael arrives in Kharkiv with his 10-year-old son Peter to help build socialism. He falls in love with the actress Olha, who is being courted by Commissar Volodymyr. The Commissar kills Michael and orders his subordinates to catch Peter. The boy is saved from his pursuers by a blind kobzar. The plot is based on real events—the Holodomor and the repressions against kobzars in the Soviet Union.
Why it’s worth watching. Fifty visually impaired Ukrainians starred in the film, playing the roles of kobzars. One of them is judoka and Paralympic medalist Ihor Zasiadkevych, who “fought” in action scenes without stunt doubles. The film also features performances by modern kobzars from different regions of Ukraine.
In 2014, Ukraine submitted “The Guide” for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Although the film didn’t make the shortlist, it won the Grand Prix at the Universe Multicultural Film Festival in the USA.
About the director. Oles Sanin is a 53-year-old director, awarded two of the highest distinctions in Ukraine for the development of culture and cinema. He professionally plays folk plucked string instruments — the bandura, torban, and lyre — and is a member of the “Kyiv Kobzar Guild,” which researches the history of kobzars and their traditions.
Where to watch:
Sci-Fi “U Are the Universe” / “Ти — космос”
IMDb: 8.1. Rotten Tomatoes: no score.
About the film. In the distant future, space trucker Andrii Melnyk transports nuclear waste to Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. During one of his trips, Earth suddenly explodes, and Andrii is left as the only human in the Universe. But one day, a French woman named Catherine makes contact: she asks for help — and Andrii sets off for her space station despite the great distance and numerous obstacles.
Why it’s worth watching. Director Pavlo Ostrikov worked on the film for over 10 years: writing the script, assembling the team, and seeking funding for the shoot, which he postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and paused due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In 2022, producer Volodymyr Yatsenko and lead actor Volodymyr Kravchuk mobilized into the army, while Ostrikov worked as a war correspondent. The film was shot with breaks, with Kravchuk being released from service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the filming.
The world premiere took place in September 2024 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Within a year, “U Are the Universe,” Ostrikov, and Kravchuk won 18 awards and received positive reviews from critics, who called the movie a futuristic love story with an emotional finale.
About the director. Pavlo Ostrikov is a 35-year-old director, comedian, and screenwriter. “U Are the Universe” became his debut feature film. His other works are mostly short films on the theme of love.
Where to watch:
Tragicomedy “My Thoughts Are Silent” / “Мої думки тихі”
IMDb: 7.8. Rotten Tomatoes: 93% from the audience.
About the film. Freelance sound engineer Vadym moves to Kyiv to earn money and move to Canada. One of his clients — a developer of the game “Noah’s Ark” — wants the guy to record the voices of rare animals living in Transcarpathia. 25-year-old Vadym sets off on a journey through his native land not alone, but with his eccentric mother, who doesn’t understand her son’s life at all.
Why it’s worth watching. The film debuted in 2019 at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and received a Special Jury Prize. Film critics called “My Thoughts Are Silent” a witty comedy and at the same time an insightful observation of life and people in Ukraine. In total, the film won 13 awards and participated in over 70 film festivals.
About the director. Antonio Lukich is a 33-year-old film and TV director. “My Thoughts Are Silent” is his first feature film; all his previous works were short films. For example, “Fish of Lake Baikal,” which won the Best Documentary award at the CineRail International Festival in Paris in 2014.
Where to watch:
Dystopian film “Atlantis” / “Атлантида”
IMDb: 6.9. Rotten Tomatoes: 97% from critics, 68% from the audience.
About the film. The year is 2025. Ukraine has liberated all territories occupied by Russia, but the east of the country has turned into an uninhabitable desert. Water is a precious commodity delivered by trucks. Former soldier Serhii tries to come to terms with life in an ecological and humanitarian crisis. One day he meets a volunteer named Katia and, for the first time in a long while, feels that he is returning to a normal life.
Why it’s worth watching. After its premiere in 2019, the film won 21 awards at international film festivals. The most prestigious of these was Best Film at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section for young directors. All roles in the film were played by veterans, volunteers, and Ukrainian soldiers — according to critics, their acting is masterful.
About the director. Valentyn Vasyanovych is a 54-year-old director. Ukraine has twice submitted his films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film — “Black Level” in 2017 and “Atlantis” in 2020.
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Historical action movie “Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die” / “Кіборги: герої не вмирають”
IMDb: 7.5. Rotten Tomatoes: no score.
About the film. September 2014. Ukrainian soldiers have been holding the defense at Donetsk Airport — an important strategic object of the city — for the fourth month. At the center of the plot is a group of young volunteers who arrive for a two-week rotation. During this time, their fates become tightly intertwined.
Why it’s worth watching. The plot is based on real stories of Ukrainian soldiers who defended Donetsk Airport. They consulted the film team during shooting so that events were depicted as authentically as possible: sharing details about the daily life and specific vocabulary of the fighters, and explaining how to handle weapons. The film won seven awards at different Ukrainian film awards — for best film, screenplay, acting, and the work of the production designer and makeup artists.
About the director. Akhtem Seitablaev is a 53-year-old actor and director of Crimean Tatar origin. He heads the Crimean House in Kyiv — a state cultural space that cooperates with activists running projects related to Crimea. In Ukraine, Seitablayev has received honorary state titles, awards for film directing, and numerous distinctions for his acting in theater and cinema.
Where to watch:
Drama “Butterfly Vision” / “Бачення метелика”
IMDb: 6.5. Rotten Tomatoes: 86% from critics.
About the film. Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance officer Lilia, call sign “Butterfly,” returns home after several months in Russian captivity. The girl tries to forget all the horrors, but her attempts are futile: she is pregnant by her overseer who raped her. Lilia hesitates for a long time whether to have an abortion, and finally keeps the child. But not all her loved ones understand this decision.
Why it’s worth watching. The film debuted in 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics thanks to a high-quality script, the masterful performance of Rita Burkovska (Lilia), and visual effects that helped depict the heroine’s emotional state. In total, the film won nine awards at international and Ukrainian film festivals.
About the director. Maksym Nakonechnyi is a 35-year-old director, producer, and co-founder of the production company Tabor Production. He wrote the script for “Butterfly Vision” together with director Iryna Tsilyk. Nakonechnyi’s previous works include short fiction films and documentaries.
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Documentaries
“Ukrainian Sheriffs” / “Українські шерифи”
IMDb: 7.1. Rotten Tomatoes: no score.
About the film. It’s a 2015 feature. In the small village of Stara Zburivka in southern Ukraine, there is no militsia, so the village head appoints two locals — 50-year-old Viktor Kryvoborodko and 44-year-old Volodymyr Rudkovskyi — as sheriffs. Together they resolve everything except criminal cases: for example, they settle family quarrels and fights between neighbors. But when war begins in the country, ordinary life in the village and the mood of the locals gradually change.
Why it’s worth watching. Filming lasted four years; part of the events take place after the Revolution of Dignity. The documentarians captured many vivid moments where the sheriffs creatively resolve domestic conflicts. Shortly after filming ended, they were elected as deputies of the village council.
“Ukrainian Sheriffs” was first shown in 2015 at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where it won the Special Jury Prize. In 2016, the film became the first documentary submitted by Ukraine for the Oscars, but it did not make the shortlist.
About the director. Roman Bondarchuk is a 43-year-old director, screenwriter, and director of the Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, which takes place annually in Kyiv.
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“V. Silvestrov” / “В. Сильвестров”
IMDb: 8.6. Rotten Tomatoes: no score.
About the film. A 2020 biopic about the prominent 88-year-old Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov, who was twice nominated for a Grammy Award. The plot is divided into three parts. In the first, the director shows rehearsals of the composer’s choral works and the perfectionism with which he works in the recording studio. In the second, Silvestrov talks about his childhood during World War II, his very first works, and the avant-garde compositions he wrote from the 1960s to the 1980s despite the official state course of socialist realism. In the third part, a children’s choir in a church rehearses “Alleluia” — one of the composer’s most famous choral works.
Why it’s worth watching. In 2021, the documentary received the Ukrainian “Golden Dzyga” award for Best Sound. The award’s website notes that the film’s author highlighted the composer’s creative techniques and successfully told his life story.
About the director. Sergey Bukovsky is a 65-year-old actor, director, and laureate of state awards, including the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, he has directed about fifty documentary and fiction films.
Where to watch:
“No Obvious Signs” / “Явних проявів немає”
IMDb: 7.4. Rotten Tomatoes: no score.
About the film. It premiered in 2018. The protagonist is a soldier named Oksana, a deputy commander for personnel affairs. She identified the dead, wrote reports about it, and informed relatives of their loss. After three years of service, Oksana returned from the war and is battling post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. She is helped by psychologists and a team of documentarians who are always ready to listen.
Why it’s worth watching. Director Alina Gorlova captured what often remains unnoticed — the difficult path of soldiers returning to civilian life. The film debuted at the Docudays UA festival and won four awards there. The jury appreciated Oksana’s courage and how gracefully the director revealed her inner experiences.
About the director. Alina Gorlova is a 33-year-old director and screenwriter. Her works include feature fiction and documentary films that have won awards at Ukrainian and international festivals. In 2021, the President of Ukraine awarded her the honorary title of Merited Artist of Ukraine, and in 2025 — the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd class, for her contribution to the cultural sphere.
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Previously, YBBP compiled a selection of nine documentary films that will not leave you indifferent — from films about the war in Donbas and the Revolution of Dignity to cult silent cinema.
