Kyiv Critics’ Week is one of Ukraine’s most prominent film festivals, showcasing the best of world cinema to local audiences, selected and presented by professional Ukrainian film critics.
Last year in Amsterdam, De Balie initiated a unique collaboration with the critics of KCW, resulting in a three-day event that brought highlights of Ukrainian cinema to the Netherlands. This year, under the name KCWxNL, the project is expanding to Rotterdam and The Hague, with the goal to include broader Dutch audiences and Ukrainian diaspora from different cities.

The discussions following the films, each featuring a Dutch and a Ukrainian film critic, shed light on the films and their themes from two different perspectives and provided a meeting point for two cultures that have increasingly interacted in recent years.

Revolving around the theme Away From Home, KCWxNL2025 presents five feature-length and three short films, exploring the topic of emigration in different ways —displacement, homesickness, a desired destination, an unwanted choice, internal conflict, nostalgia…

Since February 2022, more than 6 millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes—a continuation of a long history of emigration driven by conflict, economic hardship, and political instability. This recurring experience of exile and the quest for belonging has not only reshaped lives but also deeply influenced Ukrainian cinema, infusing its narratives with questions of identity, exile, and hope.

We invite our audiences to join the conversations with Dutch and Ukrainian film critics and shine a spotlight on dynamics of self-identification, senses of displacement and integration.