Kateryna Gornostai's 'Timestamp' First Ukrainian Film in 25 Years Selected for Berlinale Main Competition

For the first time in 25 years, a film by a Ukrainian director has been selected for the main competition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). Kateryna Gornostai’s documentary feature ‘Timestamp’ will compete for the prestigious Golden Bear, as confirmed by her team to UP Kultura.

The documentary offers an unfiltered look at the lives of teachers and students continuing their education amid war. Some of the schools featured in the film are located in recently liberated or frontline areas, highlighting the resilience of communities navigating extraordinary challenges.

“We focused on the ordinary moments of school life—tears on the first day, colorful ribbons for high school graduates. These seemingly simple experiences are now framed by the reality of war. Students often attend classes in bomb shelters during air raid alerts, while principals show visitors parts of schools that have been destroyed and sealed off, as lessons continue in the remaining sections,” Gornostai explained.

“War has seeped into every aspect of this routine, but life goes on—we have no choice but to keep living and learning,” she added.

Borys Khovriak, one of the film's heroes who worked as a teacher during filming, now serves in the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

Breaking away from conventional documentary styles, ‘Timestamp’ excludes voiceovers, interviews, and reenactments. Instead, it focuses on capturing daily life, weaving together moments that reveal how war has reshaped normalcy.

‘Timestamp’ reunites the creative team from ‘Stop-Zemlia,’ including cinematographer Oleksandr Roshchyn, editor Nikon Romanchenko, sound designer Mykhailo Zakytskyi, and producers Olha Bregman, Natalia Libet, and Viktor Shevchenko. Proceeds from the international screenings of the film will go toward rebuilding schools damaged by the war.

With ‘Timestamp,’ Kateryna Gornostai brings Ukrainian stories to the international stage, representing a significant moment for Ukrainian cinema at the Berlin International Film Festival. The last time a Ukrainian director competed in Berlinale’s main program was in 1997, when Kira Muratova presented ‘Three Stories.’

The 75th edition of the festival will take place from February 13 to 23, with Todd Haynes presiding as the head of the main competition jury.

Gornostai’s career began with her transition from studying biology to documentary filmmaking in 2012. Her graduation film, ‘Between Us’ (2013), was featured in the national competition at the Molodist Film Festival. Her debut feature, ‘Stop-Zemlia,’ premiered in Berlinale’s Generation 14+ competition and won the Crystal Bear from the Youth Jury in 2021. Alongside her filmmaking, Gornostai teaches directing at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, contributing to the development of future filmmakers.