At the Mifa Market — the animation content marketplace held as part of the world’s largest animation film festival in Annecy, France (June 8–14, 2025) — Ukraine will be represented with a national stand. At the prestigious MIFA Pitches, where projects from around the world are selected from hundreds of applications, Ukrainian female directors will present their upcoming films to key players in the global animation industry.
On June 10, a special Meet the Festival Programmers session will take place, gathering animation festival programmers from around the world. Among the invited guests is Anastasiya Verlinska, director of LINOLEUM Animation Festival, which will be held in Kyiv from October 1 to 5.
On June 11 and 12, Ukrainian short and animated documentary films in development will be presented at MIFA Pitches:
– Red Zone, dir. Iryna Tsilyk (France, Luxembourg, Ukraine)
What is the end of the world for one person is another ordinary Tuesday for someone else. Film director, poet, soldier's wife and mother of a teenager, Iryna Tsilyk captures a typical day in Kyiv amid wartime. A film about resistance and the beautiful, strong people in dark times.
– Kateryna, dir. Mary Yanko (France, Ukraine)
An animated documentary about how the Russo-Ukrainian War is portrayed on social media, told through the eyes of a webcam model who becomes a soldier.
– Damned, dir. Nataliya Velykanova (France)
Another highlight for the Ukrainian delegation is the MIFA Partners Pitch, where the program Black Sea Animation Shorts will be presented — a showcase of five films from across the Black Sea region, each telling bold and original stories. Among them is Frescoes of Memory by Oleksandra Dzhyganska. The film, currently in development, was previously selected for the LINOLEUM UK/UA Animation Lab (supported by British Council Ukraine), where the director received mentorship from a UK-based filmmaker.
The Ukrainian stand at Annecy is organized by the Ukrainian Film Association with support from the Ukrainian State Film Agency and the French Institute in Ukraine.
