2026 TUFF Films
Keynote Panelists
Thursday, April 16, 2026 | 7 PM
The Royal Cinema
On the shores of Odesa in Southern Ukraine lies the imposing Kuyalnik Sanatorium, a crumbling Soviet era health facility that's seen better days. Join us over a summer season where the ever-dwindling guests come for the rejuvenating mud treatments and strange electroshock therapies, in search of love, healing and happiness.
(2025, Documentary)
Duration: 90 min
Director: Gar O’Rourke
Join us after the screening of Sanatorium for a conversation with journalist
Michael Bociurkiw. [Read more]
Friday, April 17, 2026 | 6:30 PM
The Royal Cinema
A raw and intimate profile of two Ukrainian Medics from the frontlines of the war, CUBA & ALASKA captures the funny, the arcane, the painfully tragic and surprisingly warm healing that make up a soldier’s emotional journey during wartime. Body cams, cell phones, and the interviewer’s camera fill in the story between the constant danger, bouts of survivors’ guilt, and a longing to ‘go back’ –to return to the life they had when dreams were still possible. Fueled by the enormously contagious laughter from Cuba, and the dark black humor of Alaska, the two best friends face down the unknown together with a warrior fierceness befitting Thelma & Louise.
(2025, Drama)
Duration: 93 min
Director: Yegor Troyanovsky
Content advisory: parental guidance
Friday, April 17, 2026 | 9:30 PM
The Royal Cinema
Liuba and Andrii, two war veterans, seek solace and healing in each other’s company. As they navigate the aftermath of trauma, their growing connection offers a glimmer of hope for renewal. But in a world marked by indifference and internal battles, their bond is pushed to its breaking point.
(2025, Drama)
Duration: 97 min
Director: Yuriy Dunay
Content advisory: nudity
Connections with ConneKt Film
Industry Panel | Toronto Ukrainian Film Festival
Join us after the shorts programme for an industry-focused panel. Co-presented with ConneKt Film, this panel conversation will bring together industry guests to share insights into the intricacies, opportunities, and challenges of working in the Canadian film industry, from funding, distribution, and festival strategy to building sustainable careers and navigating the industry landscape.
A practical, insider look at the current challenges of the film industry, followed by an informal networking session with industry peers
With participants:
Jen Pogue, Director of Industry Programming, Canadian Film Festival
Ryan Boyko, Filmmaker
Carolyn Mauricette, Programming Director Fantasia Festiva
Militantropos (2025)
Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 5 PM
The Royal Cinema
MILITANTROPOS captures the human condition through the fractured realities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film pieces together everyday lives transformed by war — those who flee, those who lose everything, and those who stay to resist and fight — tracing both the instinct to survive and the need for closeness. Amid devastation and atrocity, the human is absorbed into war — and war, in turn, becomes part of the human.
(2025, Documentary)
Duration: 111 min
Directors: Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi
Content advisory: parental guidance
Do You Love Me? (2023)
Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 8:30 PM
The Royal Cinema
Kira is living her life with the teenage confidence that the world revolves around her. Born and raised in the late Soviet Ukraine, she sees her life predictable and clear. But it doesn't last long. Suddenly, she discovers that her father has a mistress, and her mother knows about it but prefers to remain silent. As Kira's family begins to fall apart -and so does the Soviet State- everything she knew turns out to be an illusion. Kira is searching for love, warmth, and hope for the future, going down a dark path she could not foresee.
(2023, Drama)
Duration: 90 min
Director: Tonya Noyabrova
Content advisory: parental guidance
To The Victory! (2025)
Sunday, April 19, 2026 | 1 PM
The Royal Cinema
In post-war Ukraine, frustrated film director Roman (Valentyn Vasyanovych) struggles to rebuild his life after the war leaves him without a career and separated from his wife (Marianna Novikova) and young daughter, who remain in Vienna. Living in Kyiv with his 18-year-old son (Hryhoriy Naumov), Roman clings to the belief that the hard times will eventually pass, even as he grapples with loneliness, regret, and an uncertain future.
(2025, DocuDrama)
Duration: 105 min
Director: Valentyn Vasyanovych
Content advisory: parental guidance
Flowers of Ukraine (2024)
Sunday, April 19, 2026 | 4:30 PM
The Royal Cinema
A strong, independent and anarchist woman full of humor sets out to protect her piece of land against all odds. Initially fighting off developers, Natalia's struggle becomes even more existential with Russia's attack on Ukraine. The film is a portrait of a woman who never gives up and brings to the viewers a sense of hope.
(2024, Documentary)
Duration: 70 min
Director: Adelina Borets
2026 TUFF Keynote Panelists
Sanatorium
Keynote Panelist: Michael Bociurkiw
Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 5 PM
The Royal Cinema
Join us after the screening of Sanatorium for a conversation with journalist Michael Bociurkiw.
From Frontlines to Headlines: Who Controls the Story of Ukraine?
A focused conversation examining how narratives around Ukraine are constructed, filtered, and, at times, distorted - through the lens of someone who has operated across journalism, humanitarian response, and geopolitical analysis at the highest level.
Michael Bociurkiw is a globally recognized affairs analyst, former UNICEF and OSCE spokesperson, and New York Times–published writer reporting from the frontlines of geopolitics, war, and disinformation.
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