906 film screenings held in 170 settlements and military units across 18 regions of Ukraine as part of the national tour of Cinema for Victory

The national tour of «Cinema for Victory» started on 6 August 2022. Its purpose was to provide moral support, to deliver motivational messages to the military and the internally displaced, and to consolidate the Ukrainian people’s resolve for victory. From 6 August to 20 October, 906 film screenings took place, including 41 Ukrainian feature films in 170 settlements. Screenings took place in 18 regions of Ukraine, namely in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Zakarpattia, Ternopil, Cherkasy, Rivne, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Volyn, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava, and in the city of Kyiv.

Almost all screenings for the military were attended by the stars of Ukrainian cinematography and ambassadors of the project – from Ada Rogovtseva and Irma Vitovska, to Akhtem Seitablaev, Bohdan Benyuk, and Oleksiy Trytenko. The interactions between the actors and Ukrainian soldiers became the most striking and touching moments of the tour, with the meetings lasting for hours.

«Native cinema is about us. It’s very important to unite, get to know each other, love yourself and believe in yourself. After all, we have to stand up and win!», – said Ada Rogovtseva, a legend of Ukrainian theatre and film and an ambassador of the project.

«Cinema for Victory» is an exceptional project in terms of its reach, which has led to an unprecedented number of film screenings and has clearly provided powerful motivation and emotional support for those who need it most», – remarked Akhtem Seitablaev, director, actor and project ambassador.

Famous cinematographers also came to the screenings in order to present their own films and to communicate with the audience. These figures included Kateryna Stepankova, Zaza Buadze, Violeta Kirtoka, Mykhailo Illenko, Marina Koshkina, Andriy Mostrenko, Andriy Suyarko, Larisa Rusnak, Bohdan Zhdanov, Oleksandr Kryshtal, and Yaroslav Slozhinsky. The tour was also supported by large cinema chains Multiplex, KyivKinoFilm, and Liniya Kino. They  hosted separate screenings of Ukrainian films in their cinemas throughout Ukraine.

Thanks to the active cooperation of the project’s organising committee with coordinators from civil-military administrations across 18 regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv, screenings were effectively held across 170 cities, towns and villages. Anyone could join the project by contacting the tour’s organising committee, and as a result of the influx of volunteers, a new network designed to promote Ukrainian cinema is being formed across the country. The emotional and symbolic stage of the tour was a screening in honour of the Day of the Defenders of Ukraine on October 15 at the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine.

«A tour of such scale, geography and intensity – and most importantly a tour that had such a duty to motivate and consolidate – has never before been held in Ukraine. Given the very difficult circumstances in which the tour was organised, we are extremely pleased that everything was carried out so smoothly, including the participation of so many movie stars, amid a backdrop of absolute faith in the victory», – commented Andriy Rizol, producer and Chairman of the Watch Ukrainian Association.

«Cinema for Victory» is an initiative of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Film Agency, and the Watch  Ukrainian Association, with the support of the MHP-Gromadi Foundation, Deloitte Ukraine, the Vavilon company,  UkrCinemaFest, the Union of Entrepreneurs of TV and Film Industry, individual units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the National Guard of Ukraine, in cooperation with regional military-civilian administrations and the National Police of Ukraine.