COMPETITIONS
The International Competition presents a diverse range of short films from various locations and genres. This category embodies our festival's desire to explore new and innovative approaches to filmmaking.
The International Competition presents a diverse range of short films from various locations and genres. This category embodies our festival's desire to explore new and innovative approaches to filmmaking.
The International Competition presents a diverse range of short films from various locations and genres. This category embodies our festival's desire to explore new and innovative approaches to filmmaking.
The Ukrainian Competition brings together a vibrant mix of short films that really tap into the weirdness of our times. These filmmakers are capturing and portraying a world full of contradictions, where everything feels sharper, and the desire to live fully is stronger than ever. It’s a showcase of eagerness and resilience, offering fresh takes on what it means to navigate through such a surreal moment in history.
The Ukrainian Competition brings together a vibrant mix of short films that really tap into the weirdness of our times. These filmmakers are capturing and portraying a world full of contradictions, where everything feels sharper, and the desire to live fully is stronger than ever. It’s a showcase of eagerness and resilience, offering fresh takes on what it means to navigate through such a surreal moment in history.
KISFF SPECIAL
Our superstar program which looks into a broad spectrum of endless issues, insecurities, coincidences, comedy and drama that evolve around sex and sexuality.
Short Attack is a selection of boldest, bravest and funniest short films that challenge traditions, forms, storytelling and simply common sense.
ANIMANIA is a selection of short films where the boundaries of the familiar expand into an absurdist mosaic, open to interpretation. This program is for those ready to discover animation not only as a space for visual experimentation, but also as a way to explore the world and oneself in it — through unexpected imagery, surreal situations, and poignant moments
Experimental Doc is a program born out of curatorial attempts to trace the boundaries and characteristics of the experimental approach — something increasingly present in contemporary non-fiction cinema. Conceptually, experimentation resists standard definitions and categorization. That’s why this program aims to explore and at least outline the diversity of its potential in documentary: through form, artistic language, and modes of storytelling.
HIGHLIGHTS
Visionary, provocative, and formally daring, Park Chan-wook is a defining figure in contemporary South Korean cinema. Known for masterpieces like Oldboy and The Handmaiden, his work has long challenged moral boundaries and visual conventions. This focused retrospective brings together three short films that offer a rare glimpse into his experimental side.
Emerging in the early 2000s, this remarkable movement brought a breath of fresh air to European cinema. Rooted in the post-Ceaușescu reality, it reflects both the resilience and sharp social gaze of Romanian filmmakers, resonating closely with us in Ukraine.
Artist in Focus: Peter Tscherkassky is a retrospective program showcasing the Austrian filmmaker’s visionary analog works, where found footage and darkroom manipulation collide to create hypnotic, subversive explorations of cinematic form and desire.
In the first half of the 1990s, the National Cinematheque of Ukraine (formerly known as Kyivnaukfilm) film studio produced several films about the Ukrainian artistic avant-garde, both historical and contemporary. In 2024, the Kinotron Group discovered some of these films in the archives. Delayed Premiere is the first public screening of these unique artefacts from the history of Ukrainian experimental cinema.
Winners of KISFF is a special program where you can watch the award-winning films from the festival’s competition sections. The screening will be preceded by a short award ceremony (up to 45 minutes). Come and be the first to discover which films impressed the expert jury and received the top prizes.
WOMEN* IN FILM
In this section, we showcase diverse female perspectives on screen.
Nicole Medvecka, a German director of Ukrainian origin, explores themes such as human coexistence, the impacts of war, and her personal identity.
Svitlana Zinovieva is one of the key figures of Ukrainian cinema in the post-independence era.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with Svitlana about cinema, experience, and her professional journey.
Svitlana Zinovieva is one of the key figures of Ukrainian cinema in the post-independence era.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with Svitlana about cinema, her experience, and professional journey.
In Memory of Davyd Chychkan.
Ukrainian anarchist artist, volunteer defender of Ukraine, and one of the protagonists of the film Landslide. Davyd Chychkan was killed in action on August 8, 2025.
From one's intimate relationships – with their mothers, and their own bodies – to their communities or society at large – these shorts explore nuanced and multifaceted experiences of womanhood, gender, identity and expression.
From one's intimate relationships to their communities or society at large, these shorts explore nuanced and multifaceted experiences of womanhood, gender, identity, and expression, with a particular focus on motherhood, reproductive justice, and the many forms of violence that shape and challenge them.
For the first time in Ukraine, we will present a retrospective of Kira Muratova’s short films. The program is curated by Aliona Penzii, a film researcher at the Dovzhenko Centre.
Girls in Film Prague, a Czech part of a global platform represents, champions and connects the new generation of women, non binary and trans creatives in the film industry. They present a vibrant selection of short films by directors from the Czech Republic and Slovakia – inspiring and full of talent.
CHILLS & THRILLS
This year’s comedy shorts program celebrates the delightful chaos of human behaviour — from romantic missteps and eccentric quests to strange rivalries and outrageous misunderstandings. Each film finds humour in everyday absurdities, turning awkward encounters, bold schemes, and chance connections into sharp, playful stories. Whether set in the bustle of a city or the stillness of a cemetery, these comedies embrace the quirks and contradictions that make life so irresistibly funny.
This year's Short Horrors program pays homage to the genre of body horror and plays on our deepest physiological fears.
KINO SUSIDIV
Summer holidays with family, helping each other out, making new friends, dealing with tricky feelings or spotting cute creatures where they definitely don’t belong! This playful collection of five animated shorts by Slovak and Czech filmmakers invites you to explore different emotions and dive into colourful worlds full of surprising stories and distinctive, imaginative animation styles.
"Kino Susidiv" in collaboration with the Centre for Audiovisual Culture Kino Úsmev ("Cinema Smile", Košice, Slovakia), presents a selection of Ukrainian animation for the whole family — the best festival hits that captivate both children and adults alike.
The Warsaw Film School is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special program as part of Kino Susidiv and Kyiv International Short Film Festival. To mark the occasion, we are proud to present five outstanding short films created by our talented Ukrainian students.
This selection of films is an invitation to an adventure in which the magic of nature becomes your main companion. In the noise of grass, the splash of water, the rustle of the wind – we are looking for serenity, balance and ourselves. These films take us to familiar but not obvious places – to where magic is not invented, but lives next to us.
CELEBRATE DIVERSITY
Explore the limitless ways of loving yourself and others, breaking free from conventional frames and boundaries. Join us in celebrating the beauty of fluidity, self-discovery, and the freedom to live and love beyond expectations.
From one's intimate relationships – with their mothers, and their own bodies – to their communities or society at large – these shorts explore nuanced and multifaceted experiences of womanhood, gender, identity and expression.
From one's intimate relationships to their communities or society at large, these shorts explore nuanced and multifaceted experiences of womanhood, gender, identity, and expression, with a particular focus on motherhood, reproductive justice, and the many forms of violence that shape and challenge them.
Fierce, fearless, and fabulously unfiltered (almost) – this selection of queer shorts celebrates queer heroes and villans with all their rights and wrongs. Whether navigating the end of the world or enduring a dinner date with a high-school enemy, these stories spotlight queer resilience, joy, and chaos in equal measure, and each film is a testament to the art of slaying, serving, and surviving (literally).
Since entering the European Union at the turn of the millennium, the Baltic states have taken steps toward a more equitable and diverse society, at least in terms of legislation, but with significant pushback.
Finding ourselves and our way, longing for connection and fighting for freedom: Five short films from the XPOSED Queer Film Festival Berlin explore queer identities, histories, struggles and communities. Since 2006, XPOSED shows queer cinema from all over the globe in Berlin – and now in Kyiv, with a selection of films from festival editions 2021-2025.
YOUNG FILM LOVERS
Summer holidays with family, helping each other out, making new friends, dealing with tricky feelings or spotting cute creatures where they definitely don’t belong! This playful collection of five animated shorts by Slovak and Czech filmmakers invites you to explore different emotions and dive into colourful worlds full of surprising stories and distinctive, imaginative animation styles.
"Kino Susidiv" in collaboration with the Centre for Audiovisual Culture Kino Úsmev ("Cinema Smile", Košice, Slovakia), presents a selection of Ukrainian animation for the whole family — the best festival hits that captivate both children and adults alike.
Navigating the highs and lows of adolescence, Teen Spirit dives deep into the world of teenage experiences. The selection brings together stories that capture the intense emotions and pivotal moments of youth – from the thrill of first love and the challenges of friendships to the complexities of relationships with parents and the journey of self-discovery. Teen Spirit explores the urgent, sometimes overwhelming aspects of growing up, including learning about our own bodies and the importance of setting boundaries with others. These films offer an authentic and relatable glimpse into the rollercoaster ride that is being a teenager.
EXTRA SHORTS
The One Minutes presents three series celebrating solidarity, resilience, and connection.
Scroll, scroll, scroll… You never know if the next TikTok or reel will be about the cutest kitty or something utterly and inexplicably wrong. This program is basically the same but well-curated.
MUSIC THEN & NOW
In this program, instrumental music becomes the starting point for a wide range of directorial visions — from ironic miniatures to reflections on the influence of “classical” music on contemporary art and culture.
THE URGENCY OF NOW
The social campaign #IAmNotAfraidToSayIt, the #MeToo movement, the “Support 46” flash mob — from the voices of survivors on social media to protests in the streets of Kyiv, the issue of sexual violence continues to resonate sharply both in Ukraine and worldwide.
This is a delicate and painful subject, and although it can sometimes be difficult and frightening to face, we must talk about it. Most importantly, we must listen to those who have lived through traumatic experiences.
What makes a place feel like home? This program explores the fragile, shifting notion of belonging through stories shaped by displacement, inequality, and resilience.
From the cruelty of landlords and the ongoing housing crisis to the struggles of refugees searching for safety and familiarity, these films capture the precariousness of living conditions today. Yet alongside loss and injustice, they also reveal unexpected forms of care, solidarity, and the stubborn human ability to build – and rebuild – a sense of home, even when the place itself turns into a mirage.
Through creative documentaries, Chai Docs tells urgent stories from Georgia — where political tensions, social struggles, and personal resilience meet. The program captures a nation at a turning point, caught between the weight of its past and the promise of its future.
KISFF & FRIENDS
Developed as part of the Festival de Cannes’ SFC | Rendez-vous Industry, the Creative Programs highlight free, emancipated and audacious short film and first feature film projects.
By supporting the filmmakers through tailor-made sessions and highlighting the projects to the key players of the industry, the Focus SCRIPT and the Focus WiP boost the completion of short films in post-production and in development. Additionally, the Focus COPRO’ focuses on strong voices and their first feature projects, while the New Producers Room stands as a networking platform for talented producers.
The Ukrainian premiere of This is also Ukraine- an extraordinary short film by young people directly impacted by the full-scale invasion.
Amaro Kino offers a carefully curated selection of films that speak to the richness and complexity of Roma life today, from intimate portrayals of identity and belonging, to bold forms of resistance, memory, and imagination. The programme moves beyond stereotypes, making space for Roma-led narratives and creative authorship in European cinema.
