Imagine bare feet touching the grass, the smell of fragrant hay tickling your nose, warm sunshine warming your cheeks, and birdsong adding natural notes to films shown in the open air in a magical place steeped in history.

This is how we want to begin our story about an event that brought together nature, art, and consciousness. On August 9-11, 2024, in the heart of the Carpathians, the first Eco Film Festival by Chysto.de?! took place. It was not just a festival, but an ecological cultural and educational event of a new format.

The festival was held on the territory of the Museum of Architecture and Life “Old Village” in Kolochava, Transcarpathia. Contemporary eco-art harmoniously blended with the traditions of the past. This allowed festival guests not only to immerse themselves in the world of ecological cinema, but also to get to know the unique history of Kolochava and its inhabitants better, and to taste authentic Kolochava riplianka.

We believe that it is here, in the small mountain communities of Transcarpathia, lies the real potential for the development of sustainable ecological tourism with a respectful attitude towards nature.

That is why, as part of the festival, Olena Zhuk initiated a panel discussion entitled “The First Zero Waste Mountain Rural Community,” which was attended by Sofia Sydorenko, head of the public union Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine, and Yulia Frantsishkevich from the International Charitable Foundation “Ecology-Law-Man,” who spoke about legal responsibility for improper waste management. Together with the heads of three communities — Synevyr, Kolochava, and Dragovo — and the head of the Regional State Administration, Viktor Mykyta, they discussed centralized waste collection and disposal in mountain communities, sorting and reducing waste that ends up in rivers.

Other invited guests included film director Serhii Bukovskyi, director and founder of the Carpathian Mountain Film Festival Dmytro Hreshko, 1+1 journalist Iryna Markevych, producer Iryna Kyporenko, director and screenwriter Valeriia Sochyvets, copywriter and screenwriter Mariana Fedyna, film producer Mira Oietoro, cameraman, gaffer, and screenwriter Oleksii Lieskov, and film director Gala Koziutynska. The presentations by experts, who shared their experience in creating documentary films and social advertising, inspired young talents and introduced festival visitors to the secrets of how film stories are born.

We didn’t just talk about cinema, we watched it, experienced it and felt it. Under the open sky, surrounded by mountains, the films became part of a lively dialogue about nature, humanity, our shared home, and our close interaction. Among the documentaries shown was Zero Impact by directors Laura Gebbert and Justin Shine, presented by the Docudays UA film club. The Eco Film Festival by CHYSTO.DE?! also featured the premiere of the documentary “Zhyvyi Prut” (Living Prut) by directors Yevhen Tkach and Yaroslav Ilchyshyn.

In total, about 500 visitors attended the festival every day. We created a space where everyone could find something close to their heart. The youngest guests eagerly participated in educational workshops and interactive activities organized by mountain rescuers and the State Emergency Service, shot environmental videos and stop-motion cartoons, and tried their hand at upcycling. Nearby, there was a fair of ecological and craft goods with demonstrations of traditional Transcarpathian crafts, and for those who sought rest and tranquility, there was a cozy area with hammocks and ecological literature.

In addition, guests had the opportunity to enjoy the flavors of Transcarpathia at the food court with local dishes created by both local communities and the restaurant “Poriadnyi Gazda.” Particular attention was paid to environmental awareness at the festival.

We completely abandoned disposable tableware. For the convenience of guests, a separate area was organized for the collection and sorting of waste, where organic waste was collected separately from plastic, glass, and other types of raw materials. There was also a special area for washing reusable tableware, which minimized the festival’s impact on the environment and launched a new format for festivals without piles of discarded plastic plates.

The festival’s fair area featured craft and eco-friendly products that demonstrated examples of sustainable development of small businesses in communities and craftspeople from other regions. Special attention and conditions for participation were the absence of plastic packaging and the environmental friendliness of products. Among the craft goods were candles made from beeswax or vegetable wax, natural clothing with hand embroidery, tableware and decor made from used glass bottles, wooden products, silver and natural stone jewelry, various eco-friendly items ranging from bottles and reusable bags to shoe covers made from used umbrellas, lavender-based cosmetics, as well as delicious craft cheeses, vegan sweets, blueberries and much more.

The fair featured a lecture on the creation and development of craft brands by Viktor Mykhailov, the ideological inspirer and owner of the restaurant “Poriadnyi Gazda.” There were also interactive events, including excursions into the history of wickerwork and weaving, honey tasting, and a talk by Sofia Sydorenko, co-founder of the eco-shop “Gola Grechka,” about the reusable alternative to disposable. In this way, the fair combined the opportunity to buy eco-friendly goods with informative and educational activities.

At the Eco Film Festival by CHYSTO.DE?! the teenagers, together with director Gala Koziutynska, had the opportunity to create a social video dedicated to nature conservation.

The last day of the festival was dedicated to the creation of a stop-motion animated film on the theme ‘Litter Kills Animals’. Before starting work, the young artists painted ceramic figures of sea creatures, and two hours later, together with them, they brought these images to life in a fascinating animated film.

“The most valuable thing we wanted them to focus on was to convey their love of nature through the shooting of special videos. It was an exciting moment of teamwork when writing the story, acting, shooting and editing together with director Gala Kozyutynska. As a result, we already have a powerful video about children’s dreams “Nature is a Living Inspiration” and a stop-motion animated film “Litter Kills Animals”. The children presented their works on the big screen of the main stage for all the guests of the festival. They shared their emotions and impressions from the stage, and then ate ice cream together,” says the director of ECO FILM FESTIVAL, co-founder of CHYSTO.DE? Olena Zhuk.

The cinematic part of the festival included not only film screenings, but also lectures and workshops for those who want to make films. During the third day of the festival, Olena Zhuk, co-founder of the initiative, and Roman Ostrovskyi, curator of the film part, announced the launch of the film award named after Roman Zhuk, co-founder of CHYSTO.DE?! and a soldier of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade who died in the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022.

The competition for eco-video projects was held in two categories:

Short documentary film – a prize of UAH 100,000.

Social advertising – a prize of UAH 40,000.

In addition, the winners were given the opportunity to take a course at Serhii Bukovskyi’s documentary film workshop.

In early August, the night sky was illuminated by the Perseid meteor shower, so the dates of the festival were chosen for a reason. It was a family tradition of the Zhuks to watch the stars on Roman’s birthday. Therefore, we added a special family evening, or rather night, to the programme. On the shore of the Transcarpathian Sea, everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the starry rain, wrapped in blankets and warming themselves with hot tea. The gentle melodies of the bandura and the soulful voice of Maryna Krut were heard over the water. It seemed that at that moment the sky was listening with us, because ‘…this performance was dedicated to the memory of our defenders, who, unfortunately, can no longer fulfill their dreams, and especially to Him.’

In 2024, the Eco Film Festival by CHYSTO.DE?! became an important event for promoting environmental awareness through art and education, uniting caring people around the ideas of sustainable development and responsible attitude to nature. It also drew the attention of guests and visitors to the fact that the culture of remembrance of fallen soldiers does not happen through the words ‘Eternal memory to the hero’, it lives through action, the realisation of the dreams and aspirations for better Ukraine of those who gave their lives for it. The festival brought together those who believe that change begins with awareness. And Zirka Savka through her artistic performance and Maryna Krut through her songs helped us to affirm this.

We have not mentioned many people whom we would like to thank and who made these festival days warmer, cosier and more meaningful. Among them are the cultural centre and youth of the Kolochava community; the Kolochava Youth Hub with its riplianka; and the incredibly warm team of the Transcarpathian State Emergency Service;Olena Stebliova with crafts for children; Kateryna Kicha with aromatic coffee from the Transcarpathian Coffee Factory; Aqua Poliana with mineral water for volunteers and speakers; MARTSYPANKA, RERE: SKLO, VESNA whose gifts made our speakers happy, NeekaUkraine who helped with logistics, the team of the restaurant ‘Poriadnyi Gazda’; the Arzhevitin family who hosted the festival on the territory of the Stare Selo Museum; Kolochava TС; Department of Ecology and Natural Resources; Department of Tourism and Resorts; Department of Education, Youth and Sports; Transcarpathian Regional State Administration; the entire eco-film initiative team and, of course, YOU who believed and supported us with your presence.

Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñarritu said: ‘Cinema is a mirror through which we often see ourselves.’ And we add: it is also a window into the future that we are creating together. In 2025, we will once again open the doors to a world where ecology and cinema intersect, where every film sounds like a call to action and every viewer is part of the changes to come.

We invite you to become a part of this magic.

See you at the Eco Film Festival by CHYSTO.DE? 1-3 August 2025!