A Ukrainian film festival is about to start in Beijing, just as Russia’s ends

The event will bring ‘the unique cinematic language, aesthetics and historical development of Ukrainian cinema’ to the Chinese capital

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The Ukrainian film festival kicks off in Beijing on Saturday and will run until March next year. Photo: Goethe-Institute Beijing

Published: 8:00pm, 9 Aug 2024

A Ukrainian film festival will begin in Beijing this weekend in the latest sign of more engagement between China and the war-torn nation.

The festival, titled “Memory and Future: A Century of the Ukrainian Cinema”, will run until March next year. It was organised by the Ukrainian embassy in Beijing, the Goethe-Institute and the French Cultural Centre.

It aims to “provide the audience with a close look at the unique cinematic language, aesthetics and historical development of Ukrainian cinema”, the Goethe-Institute Beijing said in a post on its official WeChat account.

The start of the Ukrainian festival coincides with a week-long Russian event that began on Monday in Beijing as Moscow, now isolated by the West, also tries to boost cultural exchanges with neighbouring China. Seven films are being shown for the Russian festival, which also includes screenings in Nanjing and Shenzhen.

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It comes after Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited Guangzhou last month, the first high-ranking Ukrainian official to travel to China since the start of Russia’s invasion.

Kyiv has been seeking support from Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Beijing has sought to position itself as a peacemaker in the conflict but has faced criticism over its support for Moscow and has never condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.