FLYING COWS

I AM ONE OF THEM
(JESTEM JEDNYM Z NICH)

LAND OF FIRE

STRANGE SEA

A SONG WITHOUT HOME

SHUT THE FUCK UP!
(Ти, бля, рота закрий!)

MONUMENT OF REVOLUTION

FLYING COWS

Countries: Armenia, Switzerland
Film length: 110 min
Directors: Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan
Producers: Vahagn Khachatryan, Irene Muñoz Martin
DoPs: Narek Martirosyan, Andranik Sahakyan
Estimated date of premiere: 2026

Synopsis: This atypical road movie begins with Apo searching for his cow in a village in Nagorno-Karabakh, against the backdrop of the long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As the village empties, families pack belongings, setting fire to homes to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Amidst the chaos, Apo finds his cow giving birth to a calf, Zemfo — a symbol of renewal amid destruction. During the evacuation, he sells his cows to Kurdish buyers. Mother and calf are separated, marking the start of Zemfo’s journey. The story unfolds through the calf’s sensory perspective as she becomes a commodity in the regional cattle trade, passing through Armenia, Iran, and into Iraqi Kurdistan, where the cows are sold as meat.

Director’s biographies: Vahagn Khachatryan is a film director and producer from Armenia. He co-founded the Yerevan-based Oolik Film Production Company, based in Yerevan. He is a member of the Union of Film Professionals of Armenia and the European Film Academy. His latest film, 5 Dreamers and a Horse, has been showcased at over 50 international film festivals, receiving a nomination for the Doc Alliance Award and winning several prizes.

Aren Malakyan was born in 1991. In 2015 he graduated from the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography. His graduation film Girl on the Moon (2014) received the prize of the President of the Republic of Armenia in 2015. Since then, Aren has directed the short film Snow (2016) that had its international premiere at Shanghai IFF. In 2022, Aren’s debut documentary, 5 Dreamers and a Horse, premiered at the Vision Du Reel IFF and was nominated for the Doc Alliance award.

Production company: Oolik Production
Vardantants 18, 0001 Yerevan, Armenia
www.oolikproduction.com
oolikproduction@gmail.com

Oolik Production is an independent film company based in Yerevan, Armenia, founded in 2018 by filmmakers Vahagn Khachatryan and Aren Malakyan. Specializing in creative documentaries, the company focuses on personal narratives set against broader social, cultural, and political backdrops. Oolik’s work is known for its authenticity, emotional depth, and observational approach.

I AM ONE OF THEM (JESTEM JEDNYM Z NICH)

Countries: Poland, Saudi Arabia
Film length: 90 min
Director: Nadim Suleiman
Producer: Kasia Kuczyńska
DoP: Ignacy Ciszewski
Estimated date of premiere: November 2026

Synopsis: In 2017, Nadim, a young Syrian film student living in Poland, meets Grzesiek, a Polish nationalist and aspiring rapper. Their friendship begins with shared boat trips and grows despite profound cultural and political differences. While Nadim confronts memories of war during a visit to Syria, Grzesiek pursues a political career with Poland’s far-right National Movement. Over time, ideological tensions strain their bond, but they keep on trying to understand each other. While Nadim tries to build a new life in Poland, Grzesiek struggles between nostalgia for the past and dreams of a musical future. The film captures a fragile relationship marked by understanding, conflict, and the difficult search for belonging in a divided world.

Director’s biography: Nadim Suleiman is a graduate of the Film and Television Directing Department at the Łódź Film School (PWSFTviT). His films have been showcased at numerous local and international film festivals. He has worked in the directing department on a variety of productions, including The Republic of Children by Jan Jakub Kolski, Bread and Salt by Damian Kocur, Green Border by Agnieszka Holland, and Freedom at Midnight by Nikkhil Advani. In 2020, he co-founded Palmyra Films, a production company behind films such as I Am One of Them, Living Giants, and Dollar or Egyptian Pound?.

Production company: Palmyra Films
Piotrkowska St. 249/251, Office B-15,90-456 Lodz, Poland
www.palmyrafilms.com
office@palmyrafilms.com

Palmyra Films creates films that explore the human capacity to overcome fear, prejudice, and division. Named after the ancient Syrian city – a symbol of dialogue between East and West – the company is lead producer of I Am One of Them and Living Giants, and Dollar or Egyptian Pound?, which premiered at the 37th Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg (Triple Axel Competition, 2018).

Production company: HAKA FILMS
Iwicka St. 17, 00-735, Warszawa, Poland
www.hakafilms.com
hello@hakafilms.com

HAKA FILMS is a leading Polish production company focused on auteur-driven features, series, and human-centered documentaries. Its debut boylesque premiered at Hot Docs, followed by We will not fade away at Berlinale. In 2025, it released My dear Théo and plans to release Insurance against meteorites in 2026.The company also provides production services for acclaimed works such as EO by Jerzy Skolimowski (Academy Award nominee).

LAND OF FIRE

Countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Canada
Film length: 80 min
Director: Nikola Klinger
Producer: Kristina Husová
Co-producers: Jan Wilde, Taghreed Saadeh
DoP: Nikola Klinger
Estimated date of premiere: February 2026

Synopsis: In the country struck by wildfires, a grieving father's quest for justice for his murdered daughter intertwines with stories of loss, resilience, and spiritual cleansing, as local communities face tragedy through traditional rituals and demolition derby races.

Director’s biography: Nikola is a Czech-based director, photographer, and artist interested in experimental documentary cinema. Nikola graduated from Studio of Photography and FAMU, from the Center of Audiovisual Studies. His feature debut La Reine was shot on Super 16mm and had its world premiere at JIDFF 2023 in Opus Bonum and Czech Joy competitions, won the student jury award in the international section and the Special Mention of the Jury at the Transilvania IFF. Nikola finished an art research project on the audiovisual work of Canadian Native people and he had an exhibition of his photographs from the area.

Production company: Cinepoint
Pod Vinicemi 710/13, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
www.cinepoint.cz
tabery.alice@gmail.com

An independent production company based in Prague, focused on creative documentaries, fiction, and animation with strong international co-production potential. It supports bold, personal projects exploring identity, freedom, social justice, and difference. Its acclaimed films include Eva Nová (FIPRESCI Award – Toronto IFF), Little Crusader (Crystal Globe – KVIFF), Reconstruction of Occupation (KVIFF), Adam Ondra: Pushing the Limits (Visions du Réel), and Atirkul in the Land of Real Men (IDFA).

STRANGE SEA

Countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia
Film length: 60 min
Director: Lala Aliyeva
Producer: Aysel Akhundova
DoP: Lala Aliyeva
Estimated date of premiere: 2026

Synopsis: Strange Sea is an impressionistic documentary that drifts through the vanishing shores of the Caspian Sea, revealing the soul of Azerbaijan shaped by oil, history, and fear. The journey begins with filmmaker Lala Aliyeva’s childhood memory of nearly drowning-an echo of a nation’s survival. Through poetic vignettes of fleeting encounters with locals, crumbling ruins, grieving widows the film captures a landscape marked by political undercurrents and shifting identities. At its heart is Adela, a child absorbing a world she cannot yet explain. Through fragments of silence and quiet defiance, the Caspian appears as a spectral mirror-echoing past traumas, enduring resilience, and a slow, inevitable retreat.

Director’s biography: Lala Aliyeva is a documentary filmmaker from Azerbaijan. She is a graduate of MA in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmiths University. She has been the co-founder and commissioning editor of the Chaikhana Multimedia Platform. Her short films premiered at Vision du Reel, Sheffield, Ji.hlava Film Festivals. Lala Aliyeva also teaches documentary filmmaking. She has won the CICLIC award at Trieste WEMW Forum and the Sundance Development Grant with Strange Sea, and got the support of Docs Up Fund. Lala was a Jacob Burns Film Center Resident.

Production company: Yaman Film
Tbilisi, Georgia

Yaman Film is a female-led, independent production company based in Tbilisi, founded by Lala Aliyeva and Aysel Akhundova. With a focus on bold, author-driven cinema from the South Caucasus, Yaman Film supports poetic, politically resonant storytelling. Strange Sea, directed by Lala Aliyeva, is the company’s debut feature-length documentary, marking the beginning of its journey in amplifying unique, fearless voices from the region.

A SONG WITHOUT HOME

Country: Georgia
Film length: 86 min
Director: Rati Tsiteladze
Producer: Olga Slusareva
DoP: Rati Tsiteladze
Estimated date of premiere: February 2026

Synopsis: Locked away by her parents for eleven years, Adelina, a young transgender woman from a Georgian village, flees to Vienna. As she navigates newfound freedom, the scars of her past and the hostility her mother faces back home for supporting her complicate her new life. Through intimate and immersive imagery, the film paints a layered portrait of exile, belonging, the mother-daughter bond, and the complexity of freedom beyond physical liberation.

Director’s biography: Rati Tsiteladze is a European Film Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. He is an alumnus of the Locarno Academy, the TIFF Filmmaker Lab, Berlinale Talents, and the Cannes Résidence. His short films have won more than fifty awards and have been screened at around 300 festivals worldwide, including at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, and the Locarno Film Festival. His short film Prisoner of Society won multiple Academy Award-qualifying prizes and was nominated for the European Film Academy. Tsiteladze was awarded the Moulin d’Andé Prize at the Festival de Cannes and, at the Toronto International Film Festival, he received the HFPA Film Independent Award.

Production company: ArtWay Film
Giorgi Chkondideli 109, 0180 Tbilisi, Georgia
www.artwayfilm.com
olga@artwayfilm.com

Founded in 2014 in Georgia and led by Olga Slusareva, ArtWay Film creates art-house films and documentaries. Its work has screened at over 400 festivals, including Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Locarno, earning numerous awards and a European Film Academy nomination. Projects have appeared at Cannes, Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Toronto, Visions du Réel, and CPH:DOX, winning honors like the Eurimages Award at TIFF and HBO Max Award at Sarajevo.

SHUT THE FUCK UP! (Ти, бля, рота закрий!)

Country: Ukraine
Film length: 90 min
Director: Taisiia Kutuzova
Producer: Alona Savchuk
DoPs: Taisiia Kutuzova, Serhiy Stetsenko
Estimated date of premiere: beginning of 2026

Synopsis: Serhii, a 16-year-old activist, embodies Ukraine’s new generation of leadership – bold, resilient, and unafraid. In his village near Kyiv, he confronts corruption, environmental destruction, and threats from local officials. Even when told to “shut the fuck up” during a council meeting, Serhii refuses to back down. He speaks out for justice, LGBTQI+ rights, and the right to be heard. Shut the Fuck Up! captures his personal fight as a reflection of a nation’s broader struggle – for dignity, freedom, and a future built on truth.

Director’s biography: Taisiia Kutuzova is a Ukrainian filmmaker from Crimea, now based in Kyiv. Her work explores themes of civil rights, reform, and identity, delving into socio-political complexities. It ranges from documenting pro-Soviet and pro-Ukrainian struggles to exposing corruption, sparking public discourse, portraying family divisions over politics, and amplifying marginalised voices. Taisiia is a member of the National Filmmakers Union of Ukraine and a laureate of the French Republic’s Human Rights Prize Liberty – Equality – Fraternity.

Production company: Crimean Waves
Volodymyr Ivasiuk Avenue, 04210 Kyiv, Ukraine
www.tsimfk.wixsite.com/crimeanwaves
tsimfk@gmail.com

Crimean Waves was founded by three women from different regions of Ukraine, united by a shared vision to tell raw, real-life stories. Director Taisiia Kutuzova began her documentary work in 2016. Creative producer Alona Savchuk has nearly a decade of experience in national and international media. Editing director Tetiana Stoliarova has worked across video formats for over ten years.

MONUMENT OF REVOLUTION

Country: Croatia
Film length: 44 min
Director: Mladen Ivanović
Producer: Tamara Puizina
DoP: Matija Petrović
Estimated date of premiere: end of 2025

Synopsis: Built in 1982 atop Petrova Gora, the Monument to the Uprising of the People of Banija and Kordun is the most ambitious of Vojin Bakić’s modernist memorials. Once among the largest monuments in the world, it now stands wounded, damaged by time, weather, and neglect. Stripped of its steel cladding by scavengers, it is repaired daily by Čedomir, a local caretaker. Once a symbol of antifascist resistance, it now hosts TikTokers, bikers, airsoft musicians, astronomers, and tourists. While institutions dispute control over its future, youth and outsiders give it a new purpose. Despite institutional abandonment, the monument remains a site of tension between memory and amnesia, culture and decay—still provoking attention, interpretation, and quiet acts of preservation.

Director’s biography: Mladen Ivanović was born in Podgorica in 1987 and completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje. He enrolled in a master’s programme at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, specialising in Documentary Film under the mentorship of Professor Goran Dević. Ivanović’s debut film, Between the River and the People, was named Best Debut Film at the Balkan New Film Festival Stockholm in 2015. He is currently working on the feature-length documentary Rear Admiral, about Krsto Đurović, who died in the Yugoslav Wars after refusing to shell Dubrovnik.

Production company: The Academy of Dramatic Art (ADU)
Trg Republike Hrvatske 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
www.adu.hr/
info@adu.hr

The Academy of Dramatic Art (ADU), founded in 1896 and part of the University of Zagreb, is Croatia’s leading institution for theatre, film, television, and performing arts. It offers degrees in disciplines such as acting, directing, production, and cinematography. With a focus on artistic expression and research, ADU cultivates creative and socially engaged professionals. Its students and alumni regularly appear at top festivals like Cannes, IDFA, and Berlinale.