Ukrainian director Yuliia Hontaruk’s documentary ‘To Die to Live’ has been selected for Special Screenings, one of the key non-competitive sections of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film serves not only as a chronicle of 12 years of Russia’s war against Ukraine, but also documents the personal experiences of three veterans and their attempts to adapt to civilian life after returning from the front line
‘To Die to Live’ follows the stories of three young Ukrainians — Shakhta, Tantsiuryst, and Honchar — who, despite having no prior military experience, volunteered to defend Ukraine in 2014. After spending two years at war, they ‘attempted to gradually readjust to civilian life’. However, following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, they were forced to return to the front line once again.
‘Filmed over a period of 12 years, the film uses a fragmented cinematic language to convey the trauma experienced by its protagonists, and thus helps viewers imagine the unimaginable: how to accept that some live while others die, and that — in the face of one’s own death — the desire to live remains the most important thing’, the synopsis reads.
The documentary was produced as a co-production between Ukraine, Latvia, and Slovakia.
About Yuliia Hontaruk
Documentary filmmaker and co-founder of the creative collective BABYLON’13, Yuliia Hontaruk has been working with the subject of Russia’s war against Ukraine virtually since its very beginning.
In 2016, she released the documentary ‘Ten Seconds’. The film documents the aftermath of the shelling of Mariupol’s Eastern residential district on January 24, 2015, when Russian-backed militants attacked the area with Grad multiple-launch rocket systems.
In 2022, BABYLON’13 presented Yuliia Hontaruk’s short film series ‘Fortress Mariupol’. The series consists of films created from video calls Hontaruk had with Ukrainian soldiers who were trapped under siege at the Azovstal steel plant.
About the Karlovy Vary Film Festival
The 2026 edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) will take place from July 3 to July 11.
It is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in Central and Eastern Europe. Founded in 1946, it is held annually in the spa town of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Since 1956, it has held FIAPF Category A status, placing it alongside the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice film festivals.
In 2025, the festival featured three Ukrainian documentaries: ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ by Mstyslav Chernov, ‘Timestamp’ by Kateryna Hornostai, and ‘Divia’ by Dmytro Hreshko, which competed in the festival’s main competition.
