The international documentary film festival ARTDOCFEST/RIGA has announced the winners of its competitive programs. The Grand Prix was awarded to the film 'Mission 200' by Ukrainian director Volodymyr Sydyk.

This was reported by the chief editor of Ukrayinska Pravda, Sevgi Musaieva, during the award ceremony in Riga.

The documentary 'Mission 200' tells the story of a volunteer from Lutsk, Tetiana Pototska-Yevchuk, who, since the onset of full-scale war, has been involved in searching for and delivering the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to their families.

Much like the mythological Charon, who ferries souls across the river Styx, she transports the bodies of fallen warriors, traversing thousands of kilometers without rest, to send them on their final journey. – said the festival organizers.

The Best Director award went to Ukrainian directors Tetiana Doronitsyna and Andriy Lytvynenko for their film 'Everything Must Live', which tells of a woman helping injured and abandoned animals during the war.

A special jury prize was awarded to the film 'Close', about Russian businessman Dmitry Zimin. The film 'The Return of the Cinematographer' by Orkhan Agazade received a special mention from the jury.

The jury for the ARTDOCFEST/RIGA festival included Ivar Seletski (Latvia), Kristina Kamdesus (France), and Sevgi Musaieva (Ukraine).

Other Ukrainian films were also featured in the competition program:

• 'Dad's Lullaby' by a Ukrainian-Romanian-Croatian team and director Lesia Dyak;
• 'Dear Beautiful Beloved' produced in Austria by director Yurii Rechynskyi;
• 'In Limbo' produced in Poland by Ukrainian director Alina Maksymenko.

The international documentary film festival ARTDOCFEST was founded in 2007 in Russia. Following the onset of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2014, the competitive program was first showcased in Riga. In 2018, the entire competition and jury activities were moved to Latvia.