The documentary film ‘MARIINKA’ by Belgian director Pieter-Jan De Pue received the AUDIENCE:AWARD at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX. The director worked on the film for 10 years, documenting the impact of more than a decade of war on the lives of young Ukrainians
Filming of ‘MARIINKA’ began in 2014 and concluded in 2023, shortly before the city was fully occupied by Russian forces. The film ‘captures the slow disappearance of a city and the stubborn, tragic resilience of those who once called it home’.
The story centers on four residents of the city: ‘promising boxer Natalia, who becomes a military paramedic; Angela, a young woman who smuggles goods across the front line to survive; two brothers, Mark and Ruslan, who end up on opposite sides of the front; and their younger brother Danyil, who lives safely far from the war with an adoptive family in the United States’.
‘Through letters, video calls, and silent meetings, a story unfolds about belonging, national loyalty, and the fault lines where political conflicts can trump even the bonds of blood’, the film’s synopsis reads.
About CPH:DOX
CPH:DOX is one of the world’s largest documentary film festivals, founded in 2003. It takes place annually in Copenhagen and focuses not only on feature-length documentaries but also on experimental and socially engaged cinema.
The organizers describe the main goal as not only presenting Danish and international documentary cinema, but also ‘integrating it into a social context’. This is achieved through public discussions, Q&As with filmmakers, as well as special events and masterclasses held as part of the main festival. In addition, CPH:DOX also includes the international film market CPH:FORUM.
In 2025, Mstyslav Chernov’s film ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ received the F:ACT AWARD, which recognizes projects at the intersection of documentary filmmaking and journalism.
