The black humour of lauded Ukrainian documentary and fiction filmmaker Sergey Loznitsa unfolds with measured absurdity in Donbass, the 2018 tragicomedy filmed in the titular region of Eastern Ukraine where conflict between nationalists and separatists has been ongoing since 2014. A circus of 13 vignettes whose protagonists are ordinary citizens enacting outrageous situations, the narrative nods at Monty Python. But beneath all the farcing, the mark is clear-sighted. Underscoring how the distorted hands of propaganda always place humanity last, Loznitsa’s Cannes-prized film is an urgent revelation of the psychosocial conditions that paved the way to war.

Part of ticket proceeds to go to the BCU Foundation's Friends of Ukraine Defense Forces Fund. Read Hot Docs' statement on Ukraine.

Tickets: $15 (Members from $10)