Ukrainian filmmaker Marina Er Gorbach has received the Legacy Award 2026 from the South East European Film Festival (SEEfest) in Los Angeles, Ukrainska Pravda's culture vertical reports, citing the festival's press release.
The award was presented on 29 April at the festival's opening. SEEfest focuses on representing stories from Southeast Europe, and organizers said Er Gorbach's body of work already defines the voice of her generation and makes the Ukrainian experience visible to international audiences.
"This year, SEEfest honors a young director from Ukraine whose films and the scale of her work have already placed her among the leading representatives of her generation," the festival jury said in its citation. "Her voice has become the voice of her generation and her country. We are proud to have shown Marina Er Gorbach's films in Los Angeles, and we present her with the SEEfest Legacy Award 2026."
A festival history with Er Gorbach
According to the festival, SEEfest first presented Er Gorbach's work six years ago with "Omar and Us," co-directed with Mehmet Bahadır Er. The film took the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Warsaw International Film Festival, with jurors citing its humanistic statement on solidarity beyond cultural and national boundaries.
Her next film, "Klondike," captured the eve of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The festival described the film as a work that "became an important milestone in her cinematic work, addressing the theme of the war in Ukraine," and noted that it went on to take awards at Sundance.
Ukrainian recipients and festival program
In the festival's 21-year history, only two Ukrainian women have received the SEEfest Legacy Award — actress Oksana Cherkashyna and Marina Er Gorbach. Past laureates also include Arnold Schwarzenegger.
SEEfest runs until 6 May. According to Ukrainska Pravda, its program includes the Ukrainian documentaries "Militantropos" by Yelyzaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, and Simon Mozgovoy, as well as "With Love, from the Front" by Alisa Kovalenko.
About Marina Er Gorbach
Er Gorbach has won directing honors at Sundance and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Berlinale for "Klondike." The film was Ukraine's official submission for the 2023 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. She has been included in the "UP 100: Power of Women" list and NV's "People NV 2022" list for her contribution to promoting Ukrainian cinema abroad.
