The Kyiv Files

Netherlands , 2023 (78 min.)

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In Ukrainian, Russian, French and Dutch with English subtitles

In Ukraine, the Soviet KGB archive with countless files containing reports of observations, has been made accessible to the public. What happens to you, once you find out that the state has been watching you for years? A dissident Ukrainian woman, a Dutch amateur spy and a French tourist betrayed 50 years ago by her “lover”, are confronted with their own file in the archive. The film reveals a time when the paranoia of the Soviet regime penetrated deep into the fibers of personal lives. Highlighting the impact of paranoia and mistrust. Through the stories we are reminded of the importance of transparency, accountability, and the protection of individual rights in any society.

“Stokman shows how that era’s years of suspicion echo through to the present, with (…) a son now fighting against the Russians.”
 IDFA