As a jury, we were unanimous in our belief that this year’s Docudays UA Main Prize should be awarded to a film and a filmmaker who disarmed us with such radical narrative honesty. Her warts-and-all account of being a serving female soldier in the Ukrainian army never shies away from presenting the difficult and often surprisingly mundane realities of being within a battalion.
It is nuanced, compelling, and highly accomplished documentary storytelling that should be urgently seen by a wider international audience. The award goes to Helena Maksyom for Don't Ask Me If I Killed.
SPECIAL MENTION
Where Everything Disappears / Oleksandr Tkachenko / Ukraine, France / 2026 / 88'
As a jury, we felt it was impossible to ignore the powerful effect, particularly within the final third of the film, of Oleksandr Tkachenko’s account of the harrowing impact of war upon his friend, cinematographer and serving soldier Dmytro Dokunov.
This film crafts its own haunting portrait of a man who has been profoundly broken, both physically and emotionally, by his experiences on the frontlines of this Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. It is a film that transcends the limitations of its form to communicate a profound truth about the human cost of war.
