The 23rd Docudays UA International Traveling Documentary Film Festival is kicking off. Screenings are scheduled in 19 regions, including the Kherson region
The 23rd Docudays UA International Traveling Documentary Film Festival has kicked off. It will run from October 1 to November 30, 2026. Screenings and human rights events are scheduled in 19 regions of Ukraine, including the Kherson region.
This was announced at an online press conference dedicated to the 23rd Docudays UA International Traveling Documentary Film Festival.
“We can consider this press conference the official start of the 23rd Docudays UA International Traveling Documentary Film Festival. Every year at the end of winter, we wonder: Will we be able to hold the next Traveling Festival given the security situation? We ask our partners. This year, 27 partner organizations from 19 regions have assured us that the festival will take place—it is eagerly awaited in cities and villages. “We see that interest in documentary film is growing, and today the demand for it is often even greater than for feature films,” said Alla Tyutyunnik, head of the “Charity and Health Foundation” and director of the Department of Strategic Development at the NGO “Docudays.”
This year, the festival will take place in at least 19 regions: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, and Chernihiv. Events will take place both online and in person in Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro.
This year’s festival theme is “Simple Designs.” It is dedicated to simple solutions that help people adapt to difficult conditions, support one another, and defend their rights.
“Simple solutions and simple designs help Ukrainians adapt to the war and survive. These include both the experiences of previous generations and new ideas that people come up with on their own. In my opinion, Robert ‘Madyar’ Brovdi put it best. He explained that when, in 2022, many civilians from business, culture, public services, and other sectors joined the military, each brought their own simple and complex solutions. It was precisely this combination of military science and such creative solutions that shaped our unique, invincible army. Our resilience is built on simple everyday solutions—bricks on a gas stove, a tent in a room, makeshift stoves by the building entrance to cook food when there’s no gas or electricity in the house, and fishing nets to protect against drones. And there is also a very important, simple moral decision made by the majority of Ukrainians: under any circumstances, keep doing what you know how to do, for the sake of what you believe in. No less important are empathy, mutual support, respect for human dignity, and a willingness to defend the fundamental pillars of democracy—human rights and freedoms,” says Alla Tiutiunnyk.
Yulia Kovalenko, Program Director of Docudays UA, said that this year, audiences will be shown 12 documentary films—six feature-length and six short films. They will feature extended subtitles. Audio description will also be available for eight of the films via the MovieReading app.
“The Traveling Festival program includes 12 films that represent the ‘cream of the crop’ of this year’s Docudays UA Festival in Kyiv. We are delighted to present them in various regions of Ukraine and hope that these films will spark important discussions and conversations within communities. I am convinced that Ukrainian documentary cinema leaves no one indifferent, as it addresses issues that directly touch our hearts,” noted Yulia Kovalenko.
As part of the “Be Present” campaign, the Traveling Festival will collaborate with 12 regional news outlets that cover life and the observance of human rights under occupation.
Separately, the organizers will hold human rights events and discussions. The first online event is scheduled for October 1 at 12:00 p.m. It will focus on decolonization at the regional level and local initiatives that can transform communities.
The official opening of the Docudays UA Traveling Festival will take place on October 9 in Zaporizhzhia. The organizers recommend checking the festival’s website for the latest program and screening schedule. Some information about events in frontline regions may not be published for security reasons.
The 23rd Docudays UA on the Road is held with financial support from the European Union, the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine, and the International Renaissance Foundation.
Founded in 2003, Docudays UA is the largest documentary film festival in Ukraine. The festival specializes in documentary films about human rights and creative documentary cinema from the region and around the world.
Source: Vgoru
