by Alex Billington
May 11, 2026
Source: YouTube
“Did you see a cat run by?” 🇺🇦 Omnibus Entertainment & Film Movement have debuted the official trailer for an indie anthology feature called Animals in War, a sad look at how war harms animals of all kinds. This is not really a documentary, but more of a feature containing many segments of short films written & directed by Ukrainian filmmakers. Of course, Sean Penn is involved and stars in one of the films. It first premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival last year and opens on VOD in June to watch at home. Tribeca’s intro explainsmore about it: “the film serves as a haunting yet deeply moving call for global awareness and empathy. Featuring a white rabbit, a wolf, a cow and other animals as central figures of each story, the film employs a range of artistic styles to explore the war’s often overlooked ecological impact. Through these powerful vignettes, this film is a compelling work that highlights the widespread devastation wrought by the conflict and issues an urgent plea for compassion, reflection and action.” This is quite beautiful to see but it just makes me so sad to see how much harm this incredibly stupid war in Ukraine is causing. It’s just awful.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for the Ukrainian anthology film Animals in War, from YouTube:
Blending observational realism with poetic imagery, Animals in War refracts the devastation of the war in Ukraine through the lives of animals it left behind. As cities empty and frontlines shift, creatures both domestic and wild navigate a world instantly reshaped by violence. Featuring Oscar winner Sean Penn and told through a collection of visually arresting vignettes by leading Ukrainian filmmakers, Animals in War is a meditation on survival, innocence, and the tension between humanity and nature in times of war. Animals in War is an anthology film with segments made by Ukrainian filmmakers: Sviatoslav Kostiuk, Andriy Lidahovskyi, Alexei Mamedov, Ivan Sautkin, Yuliya Shashkova, Maksym Tuzov, plus Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi. Produced by Oleg Kokhan, Oleksiy Makukhin, Svetlana Mashovets. It initially premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival last year. Film Movement debuts Ukraine’s Animals in War film direct-to-VOD starting June 26th, 2026 coming up this summer. For more info, visit the official site.
