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Ideas of man and beast wrestle with one another in Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s unsettling debut. He draws on the pagan mask-wearing traditions of the preparation for the Ukranian Malanka carnival to heighten the primal imagery of his tale of a family man who becomes increasingly desperate.

Leonid (played with bruising heft by Oleksandr Yatsentyuk) has just returned home after a long stint working abroad. Locals know him best by the nickname Pamfir, which was garnered in a youth of smuggling - although that is all theoretically in the past now thanks to a promise he made to his wife Olena (Solomiia Kyrylova). The setting may be rural but the rules here are far from pastoral. Despite the earthy warmth of the general colour scheme, mist swirls about the place and there’s a strong undercurrent of violence, even in the film’s moments of humour.

Pamfir’s son Nazar (Stanislav Potiak) is now a.

Violent story of a man’s doomed efforts to settle back into family life after a shady trip abroad is dynamic but despairing

This movie from western Ukraine is one of the strangest and fiercest I have seen in a while: dynamic and yet despairing. It does not allude to Russia’s war on Ukraine, but perhaps that conflict is there subtextually, in the sense of tribal loyalty, community tradition and the distinct, almost occult pull towards the west. There is something of Aleksey German or Sergey Loznitsa here, and its lead character is like a more watchful and subdued, though no less violent, version of someone that Emir Kusturica would dream up.

The setting is Bukovina, in the eastern Carpathian mountains bordering Romania. Oleksandr Yatsentyuk plays Leonid, nicknamed Pamfir (“Stone”), a guy who has just come home from a job in Poland; he makes passionate love to his wife...

Just two days after a Russian airstrike in Kyiv killed three citizens, damaged a power plant, and caused significant blackouts, the Ukrainian National Film Critics Circle went ahead with their annual award ceremony.

Known as Kinokolo, the ceremony took place in an underground bunker in Kyiv on Thursday, with national broadcaster Suspilne Kultura airing the event live. First established in 2018, Kinokolo recognizes the best in national Ukrainian cinema, and is hosted on the first day of the annual Kyiv Critic’s Week. This year’s Critic Week runs until October 26.

“Pamfir,” which premiered this year in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight section, was the big winner of the night, taking the best feature prize. Director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, who made his feature film debut with the drama about a man who returns to his small town and is sucked back into his criminal past, nabbed best director, best film screenplay, and discovery...

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In yet another example of courage under fire from the citizens of Ukraine, the country’s film critics have managed to hold the country’s first post-war awards ceremony. The Ukrainian National Film Critics association handed out its Kinokolo Awards Thursday night, broadcasting the ceremony from a bunker studio in Kyiv. The event was carried on national public TV channel Suspilne Kultura.

Pamfir from director Dmytro Sukholytkyi-Sobchuk was the night’s big winner, taking home best film, best director and best screenwriter honors, as well the discovery of the year prize for the best full-length debut. Pamfir star Oleksandr Yatsentyuk also took best actor for his performance in the film as a man who returns to Ukraine from abroad and gets drawn into his criminal past. Pamfir premiered in Cannes in Directors’ Fortnight.

‘Pamfir’

Maryna Er Gorbach’s war drama Klondike, which debuted at Sundance this year,...

After its debut at Sundance in January, where it earned the World Cinema Dramatic Competition award for directing, Ukrainian wartime drama “Klondike” nabbed top honors for best international film at the Chile’s 18th Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic).

“Klondike,” written, directed and edited by Ukrainian filmmaker Marina Er Gorbach (“Omar and Us”), tells the story of expectant couple Irina and Anatoly who live in the village of Grabove, near the Russia-Ukraine border during the high conflict that coincides with downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The couple faces devastation up-close as Irina refuses to relocate, even as troops close in.

Best director went to Chile’s Roberto Baeza for his documentary effort “Punto de Encuentro,” a gripping portrait of filmmakers striving to recreate the story of their fathers, tortured and imprisoned under the dictatorship.

Tyler Taormina (“Ham On Rye”) feature “Happer’s Comet,” which examines alienation by focusing on characters from his Long Island hometown,...

In Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s Cannes title “Pamfir,” marking his feature debut, the carnival is fast approaching. His protagonist (Oleksandr Yatsentyuk) finally returns home, ready to do better this time. But when his child runs into trouble and there is no money, as always, there is no way but back.

With Indie Sales on board and produced by Bosonfilm, “Pamfir” is a co-production between Les Films d’Ici (France), Madants (Poland), Quijote Films (Chile), Mainstream Pictures (Ukraine), Wady Films (Luxembourg), Moderator Inwestycje (Poland), Studio Orlando (France) and Soilfilms (Germany).

“This carnival, malanka, is specific to western Ukraine. It’s like a game – there are rules,” says Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk.

While people sing, dance and fight, they also stage plays, returning to the concept of holy sacrifice.

“When it comes to this celebration, there is a sense of loss. You lose something and then later, it rises again. A bit like in Christianity or a bit like with our character.

Paris-based company Indie Sales has acquired Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s debut feature “Pamfir” which will world premiere at Directors’ Fortnight. The banner is handling international sales on the movie.

Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk previously directed the short film “Weighlifter,” a European Film Award contender and winner of the Best Short Film Award in Angers.

“Pamfir” takes place in Western Ukraine, on the eve of a traditional carnival. It follows a man, Pamfir, who returns to his family after months of absence. His unconditional love for his family is such that when his only child starts a fire in the prayer house, Pamfir has no other choice but to reconnect with his troubled past in order to repair his son’s fault.

“It has been an amazing journey working with such an inspiring international crew from Ukraine, Poland, France and Chile,” said Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. He added that “despite miles of distance, and tremendous difficulties, this has been a fruitful collaboration.