How to Care for Cosmos

I shall sow flowers of flowing colors;
I shall sow flowers even amidst the frost
Lesya Ukrainka (Contra Spem Spero!)

The section dedicated to queer cinema flourishes every year. It keeps the festival’s curatorial (and political and emotional) landscape connected to its - and our - roots, to its - and our - reality: above all, to its - and our - desires and hopes. A space for cinema that we embrace, that we nurture, and that we want to see grow through sharing and connection. This year, we return to a tradition: our collaboration with Sunny Bunny, which brings us the new voices of Ukrainian queer cinema.

We come together once again: Sunday, June 7, at 7:15pm, at Batalha - Centro de Cinema.

We didn’t return home till seven, with books, biscuits, fudge, and two enormous pots to plant geraniums in front of the porch.
Derek Jarman (Modern Nature, June 1989)

Sunny Bunny

SUNNY BUNNY marks 25 years in 2026. Founded at Kyiv IFF Molodist, it grew to become a festival of its own in 2023. Over the years preceding the separation from Molodist, Ukrainian films were a rarity in the program, while now we see plenty of short films being made in the country despite Russia’s full-scale war, and are thrilled to represent it and boost their visibility both in Ukraine and abroad.

This program combines Ukrainian films featured in the latest two editions of SUNNY BUNNY, with experimental and performative works along with more classical narrative films. Through these five, we showcase the diversity of forms and genres, films by students and accomplished artists, and a range of topics, from wartime unexpected love to queer prisoners in the spirit of Jean Genet.