The Fifth Mykolaichuk OPEN Audience Film Festival 2026 Announces the List of Award-Winning Films

The fifth international audience film festival Mykolaichuk OPEN has announced the winners of its competition programs. The festival laureates were determined through audience voting, and, for the first time, awards were also presented by a professional jury. In addition, separate prizes were provided by the festival’s partner AMO Pictures.

In the National Short Film Competition, 18 films were screened, dedicated to themes of war, coming of age, love, youth, and more — genre-diverse works ranging from comedies to mystical films and melodramas. The jury awards in this competition were presented by actresses Irma Vitovska-Vantsa and Rymma Zyubina, actor and host Oleksii Hnatkovskyi, director and actor Akhtem Seitablaiev, screenwriter and director Serhii Kulybyshev, and BAFTA-winning producer Haider Rothschild Hoozeer. The winners were distributed as follows:

— Jury Special Mention — “Unavailable”, dir. Kyrylo Zemlianyi. This is a story about a young man who devotes his days to volunteer work and loses contact with his mother, who remains in occupied territory.

"For a well-formed directorial vision built on personal reflection and an honest conversation with the audience,"* explained the members of the National Competition jury.

— Jury Prize — “A Short Guide to Breaking Up”, dir. Varvara Zarytska. The main character, Agatha, desperately tries to understand the reasons for her romantic failure after a breakup, digging through memories and archival materials.

"A short film in which everything came together — the method of storytelling, narrative decisions, and a distinctive visual cinematic language that became a coherent authorial statement about fragile femininity, friendship, love, and separation,"* the jury statement reads.

— Special Award from AMO Pictures Production — “Tell Me a Fairytale”, dir. Diana Anikieieva. The documentary observes the relationship of two soldiers over the course of a year through phone calls, meetings, and public appearances, documenting how love is destroyed under the pressure of war, visibility, and unprocessed trauma.

— Winner of the National Short Film Competition — “Natural Balance”, dir. Oleksandr Myroniuk.

In the International Competition, seven feature films from the United Kingdom, South Korea, Mexico, Romania, Brazil, Ukraine, and China competed. Jury prizes were determined by Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Iryna Tsilyk, Irish producer Mike Downey, and directors Corin Hardy (United Kingdom) and David Mackenzie (Scotland).

— Jury Special Mention — “Queen of the Sea”, dir. Lance Hammer.

"Thanks to the powerful performances of a brilliant ensemble cast, this film offers a striking portrait of intimacy in a geriatric environment, which is significant from an ethical perspective, and ultimately it is an unspeakably painful and sad drama about the final stages of living with dementia. The film thoroughly examines and explores key issues of consent, as well as differing perceptions of pleasure and expectations of intimacy between generations," commented the jury.

— Jury Prize — “About People and Meat”, dir. Jang Jong-hyeon.

"For the Grand Prix, the jury selected a truly luminous film that is both funny and engaging while also offering sober and profound reflections on class struggle and aging. The film beautifully conveys the simple joys of friendship and the pleasure of gradually getting to know one another. It presents a trio of generously drawn elderly characters; an outstanding ensemble cast brilliantly conveys how layered, imperfect, and authentic these characters are. The film combines light-hearted antics with poignant reflections on approaching old age, poverty, and poetry," the statement says.

— Special Prize (second place in audience voting) of the International Feature Competition — “Rock, Weed & Cars”, dir. H. M. Cravioto.

— Winner of the International Feature Competition — “About People and Meat”, dir. Jang Jong-hyeon.

The festival also launched a new competition — Music Videos. Both the professional jury and the audience selected their favorites.

— Audience Choice — “Limbo”, Small Depo and Third Assault Brigade, dir. Sofiko.

— Jury Prize — “Mad Dog”, Oi FUSK, dir. Illia Dutsyk.

The Music Video Competition jury consisted of music video and film directors Anna Buryachkova, Dasha Shi, Valeriia Fadieieva, Maryna Er Horbach, and British director Dawn Shadforth.

It should be recalled that the official festival award is called the “Iron Mykolaichuk.” The design of the award is inspired by the role of filmmaker Ivan Mykolaichuk in the Ukrainian film The Lost Letter directed by Borys Ivchenko in 1972. For the fourth year in a row, the statuettes have been created by masters Dmytro Shyianov and Yevhen Sopko of Hisoshi Art Studio.

The eight-day festival was closed by the Czech sports drama “The Invincibles” by Daniel Páněk, about the national para ice hockey team. Against the backdrop of a sporting event unfolds an inspiring story proving that, with the right outlook, any life challenge can be overcome — even with a sense of humor.

In total, this year Mykolaichuk OPEN screened more than 90 short and feature films and held the Mykolaichuk Kids section, attended by more than 2,500 children from Bukovyna. During the festival, Ukrainian premieres included Olivia Wilde’s “The Upstairs Neighbors”, Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Her Private Hell”, James McAvoy’s directorial debut “California Scheming”, and other films.

The Mykolaichuk OPEN Audience Film Festival took place in Chernivtsi with the support of the Chernivtsi City Council and the Ivan Mykolaichuk Cultural and Arts Center. The event’s General Media Partner was 1+1 media.

Supported by: Chernivtsi City Council, Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration, State Film Agency of Ukraine, Ivan Mykolaichuk Cultural and Arts Center, Bukovyna Film Commission.

General Sponsor: Vodogray Construction Company

Festival Sponsors: MTA, Grico Group, DAR Group & Partners, Natalux

General Partner of the Industry Section: AMO Pictures

Partners: Ukrposhta, [Ne] Khustka, Divergent Agency, Grand Royal, Panskyi Dvir Hotel & Restaurant Complex, Kamerton Store, Bukmusic Recording Studio, Chernivtsi National University, Spider Media Production.

Partner of the Military Cinema Section: Cultural Forces

General Partner of Mykolaichuk Kids: Kraina Mriy

Gift Sponsor of Mykolaichuk Kids: MTA

Hospitality Partners: Bartka Restaurant, Bacara Coffee, Ciabatta, Syto Bakery, Daddy Cool Bar, Park Restaurant, QUARTER Flowers, TEMO Restaurant.

General Media Partner: 1+1 media

Festival Information Partner: Suspilne Broadcasting (Suspilne Culture, Radio Culture, and Suspilne Chernivtsi).

Industry Section Media Partner: Detector Media

Media Partners: C4 Media Holding, UP.Culture, Village, Kyivstar TV, Shpalta, Radio 10, ACC Media Agency, Bukovynska Khvylia 100.0 FM, ProShoKino, Kinowar, Chornyi Lotos.

Follow the latest news on our Facebook and Instagram pages and on the festival website.