Film about Ukrainian volunteer soldiers to be screened at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Yuliia Hontaruk's film To Die To Live, about three volunteer soldiers who first took up arms to defend Ukraine in 2014, has been selected for one of the competition programmes at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which will take place from 6 to 22 November 2026.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda.Culture, citing the project's team

Details: The film had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. At the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the documentary will compete in the Baltic Documentary Competition.

"This is already the second A-list festival to select our film, and it is a great honour for us and an opportunity to bring to international audiences the story of a generation of Ukrainians who stood up to defend their country back in 2014 and continue to fight today," Hontaruk said.

The film tells the story of three volunteers who fought on the front line in 2014 but, after returning to civilian life, struggle to find new versions of themselves. Just as their lives begin to get back on track, Russia launches its full-scale invasion.

The film is a co-production between Ukraine, Latvia and Slovakia.

The film won the Grand Prix at the 17th Odesa International Film Festival and was named Best Ukrainian Documentary of 2026.

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival, PÖFF) was first held in 1997. Since 2014, it has been among the 15 top-tier film festivals accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).

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