The Ministry of Culture, during a meeting with experts, presented the preliminary evaluation results of applications submitted for the “Tysiachosvitnia” initiative competition. A total of 2634 applications were received for the program, with the requested funding exceeding the allocated budget by 4.8 times.
The largest number of applications were submitted in the category of audiovisual shows and social media videos — 554. Additionally, 499 applications were received for feature films and series, 468 for non-fiction (documentary) films and series, 337 for contemporary music projects, 314 for performing arts, 236 for animated films, series, and content for children, and 226 for visual arts projects.
The highest level of competition was recorded in the areas of documentary filmmaking, animation, and children’s content, where the requested funding volume surpassed the available budget tenfold.
The average proportion of debut projects ranges from 15% to 20%. Simultaneously, in the category of feature films and series, the share of debuts reaches 33%, in documentary filmmaking—32%, and among animation and children’s projects—30%.
Among the primary themes and trends in the applications, war, resilience, and memory (35%) prevail, followed by Ukrainian identity and cultural heritage (25%), projects for children and youth (18%), cultural diplomacy (10%), digital and immersive art (8%), and regional identity (7%).
Specifically, in the film sector, over 60% of synopses include direct or metaphorical references to Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The theme of war is represented across all three cinematographic selection streams. Furthermore, 35% of feature film applications focus on youth-related themes, and a distinct and potent theme across all three film categories is the female perspective on war.
The scale of the applications varies significantly: the smallest is 1005 hryvnias, while the largest is 438.5 million hryvnias. The average cost of projects in feature films is 26.4 million hryvnias, in documentaries—approximately 4.2 million hryvnias, and in the animation and children’s content category—over 21.2 million hryvnias.
Nearly half of all projects came from Kyiv — 327 applications, or 47.5%. In total, applications were received from 23 regions of Ukraine. Following the capital, the most active regions were Lviv Oblast with 71 projects, Dnipropetrovsk with 50, and Kharkiv with 36.
The Ministry of Culture noted that a considerable number of applications did not pass the technical selection:
- In the performing arts stream, for which 400 million hryvnias is allocated, 314 applications were submitted, of which 265 passed technical selection. The largest share among these are projects for children—71, while debut projects constitute only 15.
- For the contemporary music stream with a budget of 300 million hryvnias, 337 applications were submitted, of which 273 passed technical selection. Every fourth application is a debut. 29 projects were proposed for children, and musical albums became the most common format—80 such applications were recorded.
- In the visual arts category, which also has 300 million hryvnias in funding, 226 applications were submitted, and only 151 projects passed the technical selection.
“Tysiachosvitnia” is an initiative launched with the support of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aimed at creating Ukrainian cultural products as an alternative to Russian content. 4 billion hryvnias are allocated for the realization of the project.
Projects in the fields of film, series production, animation, music, performing and visual arts, as well as audiovisual content for social networks, can receive support.
After technical verification, they will be forwarded for expert evaluation. Each application will be reviewed by five experts, selected through a lottery system. The expert council already includes director Mstyslav Chernov, producers Volodymyr Yatsenko and Volodymyr Zavadіuk, choreographer Olena Kolyadenko, music producer and songwriter Anton Kukri, and many others.