29.09 | 14:00-18:00 (UA-EN), Dovzhenko Centre

The event will bring together presentations of new initiatives, research, and opportunities supporting the development of Ukrainian animation. The programme will include a presentation of the XR Association, findings from the international FRAME research project, Toon Boom’s Starting Point educational programme, and UNESCO grant opportunities at the intersection of animation and game development. We will also discuss preparations for the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian animation in 2027 and future collaboration across the industry.

30.09 | 11:00 (UA), UNIT.Core B.8 

AI is already here. It's being used to create ads, launch campaigns, and visualise ideas. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be much of a choice between "using it or not." We'll have to accept its presence, learn how to work with it, and come to terms with the fact that 95% of AI-generated content is almost impossible to look at. But then there’s that other 5% — the part that makes it all worthwhile. In this talk, Ukrainian director Illia Dutsyk will focus precisely on that 5%: how to stop seeing AI simply as a way to "make things cheaper" and start using it as a powerful creative tool.

30.09 | 12:30 (UA), UNIT.Core B.8

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the creative industries — from research and concept development to the automation of production. Does it help free up time for creativity, or is it gradually replacing people and reshaping the industry itself? Together with four representatives of the creative industries — Vitalii Nebelskyi, Natalka Haida, Bohdan Sokolan, and Olha Havrylova — we will discuss some of the most pressing questions, new opportunities and risks, authorship, and the boundaries of responsible AI use.

30.09 | 18:00 (UA), UNIT.Core B.8

Films from the Soviet period are deeply imbued with an ideology that many of us now wish to reject and leave behind like a bad dream. Yet the unspoken and unexamined chapters of the past, hidden away in the dark closet of history, inevitably resurface in unexpected ways. How do we engage with this legacy in the context of a full-scale hybrid war? How can we sharpen our decolonial lens and critical thinking to analyse it? How do we communicate our history to international audiences through cinema? And how can we reflect on and reinterpret this heritage not only from an academic perspective, but also through artistic and creative practice?

01.10 | 11:00 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

01.10 | 12:00 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

In this talk, Lucie Grannec will share her journey as an animation director and illustrator, reflecting on her creative practice and the projects she has developed since graduating from ENSAD Paris. Drawing on her experience as a member of Non-Étoile, a multidisciplinary collective of more than one hundred artists supported by public cultural institutions in France, she will explore the connections between animation, contemporary art, illustration, and digital culture. The talk will focus on how animation can move beyond its traditional boundaries and engage with museums, galleries, and collaborative artistic spaces. Lucie will discuss the value of interdisciplinary exchange and why building relationships between different creative fields can open up new opportunities for artists and enrich the animation medium itself.

01.10 | 13:00 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

01.10 | 15:00 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

A special screening of LUNA ROSSA, followed by a discussion with the legendary creative duo Olga and Priit Pärn about the origins of the film, its visual language, and animation techniques. We will also explore their long-standing artistic collaboration: how they work together on joint projects, divide creative roles, and find a balance between two distinct authorial perspectives.

02.10 | 11:00 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

02.10 | 12:00 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

Canadian animation writer and curator Chris Robinson and Ukrainian animator Mykyta Lyskov discuss the making of A Crawlspace of Perseverance: Exploring Ukrainian Animation, the first English-language book devoted to the history of Ukrainian animation. Scheduled for publication in September 2027, in time for Ukrainian animation’s centenary, the project combines Robinson’s recent immersion in the subject with Lyskov’s close ties to the animation community and his earlier interviews with many of its artists. Their conversation will explore how the book began, what they have discovered along the way, and how Ukrainian animation has endured through censorship, institutional collapse and war.

02.10 | 13:30 (EN), UNIT.Core B.8

Everything you need to know about navigating the festival circuit for your film. Which festivals should you target? How do you find the right fit for your project—Cannes or Berlin, Annecy or Animator? What materials and promotional tools do you need to prepare? How long does the festival lifecycle of a short film really last? In this seminar, we’ll guide you through the essential rules of festival submissions, share practical tips and tricks, and provide valuable recommendations and insights to help your film reach its audience.

3.10 | 12:00 (UA), UNIT.City B.9

A new generation of Ukrainian creators presents their independent animation studio. Sharing their own journey, projects, challenges, and mission, the studio’s producers will talk about their experience of creating non-commercial auteur films and explore the impact and hidden power of indie animation.

03.10 | 13:00 (UA), UNIT.Coworking B.9

Filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk and artist Lia Mchedlishvili will present the upcoming feature-length animated film RED ZONE, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the project while it is still in development. The session will include a screening of the full animation test, followed by a conversation about the film’s story, directorial approach and the process of developing its visual language. Iryna will introduce the project and discuss how she approaches storytelling and directing within animation, while Lia will focus on the creation of backgrounds, visual development and her work as art director of the animation test.

3.10 | 14:00 (UA), UNIT.City B.9

During the presentation, the team behind Family Squad will show how the project evolves from a script into a fully developed animated world. The team will talk about the development of the script: how the characters and their relationships were shaped, how they found the right balance between drama, humour, and local context, which decisions changed throughout the development process, and how the written story gradually transformed into animation. The presentation will also explore the technical and creative decisions that shaped the project’s visual language: which software and tools the team uses, how collaboration between different departments is organised, what proved to be the most challenging aspects of production, and what solutions the team developed along the way.