The Ukrainian documentary film "Militantropos" has been selected for the Cannes festival, where it will be featured in the "Directors' Fortnight" program.
This was announced by the film's team, indicating that it is currently the only full-length Ukrainian film represented at Cannes.
"The docudays catalog includes a mention of this project. It is set to be a cinematic triptych consisting of three films, each lasting 70 minutes. The films titled "MILITANTROPOS, PALINGENESION, and COSMOMORPHOSIS" observe how the war in Ukraine transforms people and spaces".
Since 2022, the project has actively sought funding and has garnered considerable attention. For instance, the IDFA documentary film festival in 2024 provided financial support of 25,000 euros for its development.
Given that one of the directors is Alina Horlova, who gained recognition after her film "This Rain Will Never End," an abstract observational film filled with artistic elements and editing experiments can be expected, – noted film critic Sonia Vselubskaya.
In addition to Alina Horlova, the Tabor creative team includes director Yelizaveta Smith, director Semen Mozgovyi, and cinematographers Vyacheslav Tsvetkov, Kristina Lizohub, and Denis Melnyk.
The title of the new film project is a neologism created by the creative team, which they describe as a statement:
"MILITANTROPOS (Latin for "milit" – soldier; Greek for "antropos" – human) – is the essence that a person acquires when entering a state of war. This extreme experience demands constant individual and collective transformation, hence in a situation of upheaval, MILITANTROPOS chooses war as the only option to continue existing".
"Militantropos" was produced in co-production with Ukraine, Austria (MISCHIEF FILMS), and France (LES VALSEURS BORDEAUX). The Ukrainian producer of the project is Yevhen Rachkovskyi, co-producer of the French co-production film about FEMEN titled "Oksana" and the new documentary film by Dmytro Sukholytkyi-Sobchuk titled "Silent Flood".
In 2022, the world premiere of the debut feature film by Maksym Nakonechnyi, "Butterfly Vision," took place in the "Un Certain Regard" section. Maksym Nakonechnyi joined the project as a screenwriter, along with Alexander Komarov, a Ukrainian philosopher and serviceman.
Last week, it was also announced at the festival's press conference that the debut film of Harris Dickinson, "Urchin," featuring Ukrainian actress Karina Khymchuk, has been selected for the "Un Certain Regard" program of the Cannes Film Festival 2025.
About Directors' Fortnight
"Directors' Fortnight" is a parallel program of the Cannes Film Festival that has existed since 1969 and has become a platform for the premieres of films by outstanding directors such as George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmusch, Alex Garland, and others. In 2022, Ukrainian cinema was represented with the world premiere of the film "Pamfir".