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Toronto Ukrainian Film Festival

@tuff_film

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An annual film festival showcasing the talent of contemporary Ukrainian artists and filmmakers.

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TUFF 2026 starts this Thursday! 🎬

Four days. Eight films. One cinema. Toronto’s Ukrainian film festival returns April 16–19 at @theroyalto — bringing the stories that matter most right now.
Swipe to see the full program and find your screenings.

🎟️ Tickets at tuff.film
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TUFF 2026 вже цього четверга! 🎬

Чотири дні. Вісім фільмів. Фестиваль українського кіно повертається 16–19 квітня в The Royal Cinema.
Гортайте, щоб побачити повну програму.

🎟️ Квитки: tuff.film by @tuff_film

TUFF 2026 is here 🎬

Seven features. Eight shorts. Four days of Ukrainian cinema at The Royal Cinema – April 16-19.

From Cannes and TIFF to the frontlines, this year’s lineup brings stories to stay with you.

Grab your tickets before they’re gone –> tuff.film

#TUFF #TUFF2026 #TorontoUkrainainFilmFestival by @tuff_film

Toronto,

On May 21, I will personally present Well for the Thirsty — one of the defining works of Ukrainian Poetic Cinema, directed by my father, Yuri Illienko.

Shot in 1965 and banned by Soviet authorities for more than twenty years, the film follows an old man living in a nearly abandoned village, surrounded by memories of family, love, loss, and a disappearing world. Sparse, dreamlike, and visually striking, it remains one of the most powerful works in the history of Ukrainian cinema.

The screening will take place in a hidden underground space at 620 Spadina — the kind of venue where cinema still feels like discovery rather than content.

A rare chance to experience the film outside conventional repertory programming and speak together about Ukrainian poetic cinema, censorship, memory, and disappearing worlds.

May 21 // Toronto // PWYC by @tuff_film

We filled the room. Then we filled it with meaning.

Thank you to everyone who attended or supported for making the Toronto Ukrainian Film Festival 2026 what it was.

Щиро дякуємо. 💙💛 by @tuff_film

Дякуємо. Thank you.

To our filmmakers who trusted us with their work.
To our panelists for their insights and generosity.
To our audiences who showed up and shared.
To the @theroyalto venue and staff who made us feel at home.
To our partners @svi.toronto and @secondfrontua, volunteers and sponsors who carried this festival on their backs.

The 2026 edition of the Toronto Ukrainian Film Festival reminded us what cinema can hold.
Memory. Resistance. Community.

These stories don’t exist in a vacuum. They come from a place that continues to fight for its voice, its culture, and its future. It is a privilege to share them here, together, in Toronto.

Дякуємо ❤️ by @tuff_film

Thank you to our incredible closing night panelists @myketchupchips @anastasia_itkina and @anastasiya.lutsyshyn for an insightful look into the challenges of being an immigrant in the Canadian film industry and for the invaluable insights that were shared. by @tuff_film

What a special night🤩🤩🤩

We had such an incredible time at the Toronto Ukrainian Film Festival hosting Connections with ConneKt Film.

The room was full of incredible creatives, emerging and established voices, and industry professionals. The energy was real, the curiosity was there, and the conversations felt honest, open, and needed.

From thoughtful insights on funding, festivals, distribution and building sustainable careers, to meaningful connections that continued long after the panel, this was a reminder of how powerful it is to bring people together.

We are so grateful for this partnership, for our incredible panelists who shared their knowledge so openly, and for everyone who showed up, engaged, and supported both the conversation and Ukrainian cinema.

This is exactly why ConneKt Film exists to create spaces where filmmakers can connect, learn, and grow together.

Thank you for being part of it.

More to come. by @tuff_film

Today at @tuff_film

• 1:00 PM — To The Victory! (2025)
A filmmaker in Kyiv attempts rebuild a life shaped by war, memory, and what remains

• 4:30 PM — Flowers of Ukraine (2024)
One woman refuses to surrender her home as Russia’s invasion closes in

• Post-screening — Panel: Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema: Filmmaking on the Frontlines
Artists and industry voices on storytelling under the realities of war

📍 The Royal Cinema
🎟️ tuff.film by @tuff_film

Thank you @mayoroliviachow for your continued support of the Ukrainian community and for marking @tuff_film’s fourth year with us. We are grateful. by @tuff_film

Today at @tuff_film

• 1 PM Shorts Program + @connekt_film Industry Panel
New voices. Real conversation. The future of the film industry, in the room.

• 5 PM Militantropos
War, seen through the people forced to live inside it.

• 8:30 PM Do You Love Me?
Coming of age as everything you know falls apart.

📍 The Royal Cinema
🎟️ tuff.film by @tuff_film

Living in a war zone sharpens your senses in ways you could never imagine. Even in the dead of night, sheltering from attack, you begin to notice the difference: the sound of faster, more powerful Iranian-made drones launched by Russia into the skies over Odesa is unmistakable. We wait in darkness, hoping they are intercepted before they strike.

In my opening keynote at @tuff_film I also explained why Ukrainians - now enduring a fifth year of full-scale war and more than a decade of Russian aggression - can never accept Moscow’s maximalist demands, especially any call to surrender territory still under Ukrainian control.

My sincere thanks to the organizers for the invitation, to the audience for the thoughtful questions and warm support, and to @ledalada for filming this clip.

#україна #Ukraine #WarInUkraine #RussiaUkraineWar #film by @tuff_film