A film about the occupation of Crimea has been selected for the Vienna Film Festival

The documentary film "Etched in Memory" by director Kristina Pashin has been selected for the competition section of the international human rights film festival "This Human World." The film, which chronicles the struggle of Crimean Tatar activists, will be screened on November 26 at the Top Kino cinema in Vienna.

This was announced on the film festival’s website. 

According to the festival organizers, the film will compete in the “Up & Coming” category, which features debut and second works by young filmmakers.

The film centers on the family of Crimean Tatar human rights defenders Zarema and Eskender Bariev. Living under constant shelling in Kyiv and raising three children, they continue to fight for the de-occupation of Crimea, support for their community, and the release of political prisoners.

According to Eskender Bariev, head of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, the film documents both the consequences of full-scale war and the Crimean Tatars’ efforts on the international stage to draw attention to human rights violations.

The film also explores the stories of other Ukrainians, including Nariman Dzhelal, deputy chairman of the Mejlis, who was released from captivity; Leyla Ibragimova, director of the Melitopol Local History Museum, who was abducted by the occupiers; the late soldier Seiran Kadyrov; and 17-year-old Emir Belyalov from the Kherson region, who was killed by a Russian missile strike at the start of the war.

In addition to the film screening, the festival program includes a panel discussion featuring Ukrainian poet and cultural activist Olena Zholubak. The discussion will focus on the repression of Crimean Tatars and forced resettlement due to the Russian occupation.

Overall, the 19th Austrian “This Human World” festival will take place in Vienna from November 25 to December 2, 2026.

Previously, the director’s first feature-length film, “Etched in Memory,” had already won awards for best documentary at the International Crimean Film Festival in Istanbul and the MYTH Awards. It won the Audience Choice Award in Scotland and was also screened at film festivals in the United States.

Юлія Калабайда