SALT CINEMA Networking x Docudays UA is an event by the platform and production company SALT CINEMA. It offers filmmakers working on their first or second documentary a chance to present their projects and receive feedback and advice in small groups from decision-makers — including experienced producers, directors, and representatives of cultural organizations, institutions, and international film festivals — within the framework of Docudays UA.

Participants can expect:
— networking in a friendly and informal atmosphere;
— the opportunity to pitch their project to decision-makers in small groups;
— new connections and potential collaborations;
— the first (or next) step toward bringing their film to life.

This event will take place for the first time as part of Docudays UA.

Participation is open exclusively to industry-accredited guests who are currently developing their first or second documentary film. The first 25 applicants who meet the eligibility criteria will be selected.

Nataliia Libet is an award-winning Ukrainian film producer with a strong background in international co-production and financing and a co-founder of the women-led 2BRAVE PRODUCTIONS, based in Kyiv. She has produced several acclaimed feature films, including Traces by Alisa Kovalenko (Berlinale Panorama Audience Award 2026), Timestamp (Berlinale Competition 2025) and Stop-Zemlia (Crystal Bear Berlinale Generation 14+ 2021) by Kateryna Hornostai, Forever-Forever by Anna Buriachkova (Venice Orizzonti Extra 2023), and Parthenon by Mantas Kvedaravičius (Venice International Critics’ Week 2019).

Nataliia holds a U.S. MBA as a recipient of the Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship (2000). She is a member of the European Producers Club, the European Film Academy, and the Ukrainian Film Academy, where she also serves on the Board. She is an alumna of EURODOC 2021, Emerging Producers 2022, and the Nipkow Programme 2023.

In addition to her producing work, Nataliia serves as Head of First Cut+ at Tatino Films, an annual workshop dedicated to the marketing and international positioning of feature films. In 2024, she was selected as a Film Independent Global Media Makers Fellow.

Yevhen Rachkovskyi is a Kyiv-based film producer and a member of TABOR Collective. He has produced several acclaimed short fiction films, including Solitude by Yelyzaveta Smith and Black Dog by Nikita Zarkh. His documentary work includes Fragments of Ice by Mariia Stoianova, Ukraine: Nightlife in Resistance by Maksym Nakonechnyi, and Kyiv Soloists by Trond Kvig Andreassen.

His recent credits include Militantropos, which premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, and Silent Flood, awarded Best Cinematography at IDFA. Yevhen is a member of the Ukrainian Film Academy and an alumnus of EURODOC and Emerging Producers.

Iryna Kyporenkois a producer, director, and Head of Film at the Ukrainian Institute, Kyiv. She studied Journalism in Odesa and the USA and Documentary Filmmaking at the Serhii Bukovskyi Film Programme in Kyiv. Iryna participated in international workshops, including The Guardian Goes to Ukraine and DocWorks: UA/UA. For three years, she worked as a producer at UA:PBC in the Odesa region. She has also collaborated with Tiger Aspects (for Netflix), ARTE, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Economist, and others as a consultant and associate producer.

Alisa Kovalenko is an award-winning Ukrainian documentary filmmaker and a member of the European and Ukrainian Film Academies. She studied documentary film directing at the Karpenko-Karyi National University in Kyiv and at the Andrzej Wajda School in Warsaw. She gained international recognition with her feature documentaries Alisa in Warland (IDFA 2015) and Home Games (Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018), followed by We Will Not Fade Away, which premiered at Berlinale 2023 and received over twenty international awards. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, she volunteered on the front line — an experience that later informed her personal documentary My Dear Theo (CPH:DOX 2025).

Kovalenko is also a human rights activist and a board member of SEMA Ukraine, the first Ukrainian CSO led by women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and torture during Russia’s aggression since 2014. Her personal experience and activism led her to create the documentary Traces, which premiered at Berlinale 2026, where it received the Audience Award in the Panorama programme for Best Documentary Film.

Aliona Holiakova is an executive producer at Suspilne Ukraine, with experience collaborating with independent production companies and presenting Ukrainian projects on international industry platforms. She is a producer of the film A Sentimental Journey to Parajanov’s Planet by Taras Tomenko (Warsaw International Film Festival official selection) and several television films and series produced by Suspilne Ukraine (Waltzing with the System, Big Russian Lies, Searching for Skovoroda, Shchedryk against the Russian World, among others).

Aliona Holiakova is the initiator and producer of Suspilne PRO, an industry platform for the development of the audiovisual content professional community in Ukraine. She is also a jury member of the 5th International Television Festival Heart of Europe.

Oleksandra Zakharchenko is head of Industry Programmes of the Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes. Alexandra is originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, and holds two Master’s degrees in International Economics and Cultural Project Management. She relocated to France in 2012, where she embarked on her professional journey in the film & events sector, starting as a programmer at the Nancy International Short Film Festival. She later coordinated the European Short Pitch project for three consecutive years before transitioning to the commercial department of the Institut Lumière and Lumière Film Festival. Oleksandra formerly worked as Project Manager for the Marché’s Latin American film market, Ventana Sur. In these roles, she spearheaded industry events for both film markets, with a focus on fostering connections and advancing the global film community. Notably, she played a key role in launching the Investors Circle programme of the Marché du Film, further solidifying her commitment to innovation and progress in film financing models.

Rohan Berry Crickmar is a development producer, documentary producer, festival and industry events producer, and S&D specialist based in Ireland. He works as Festival Manager with Dublin IFF. Rohan has produced, or co- produced, the documentary features Lost For Words (dir: Hannah Papacek Harper, premiered at CPH: DOX 2025) and Reality Is Not Enough (dir: Paul Sng, premiered at EdinburghIFF 2025); the EdinburghIFF 2025 premiering documentary Community Theatre (dir: Lewis Baillie) and the EdinburghIFF 2022 premiering documentary The Tomorrow That’ll Come (dir: Carla Shah). He has also worked on television projects with Canal+ and Warner Bros. and commercial documentaries with Christian Dior, among others.