The Ukraine National Film Agency is unable to fund new projects after the country’s conflict with Russia monopolised resources

The Ukrainian film industry is in crisis after a national funding agency exhausted its resources in the wake of the country’s conflict with Russia.

Kiev reduced the Ukraine National Film Agency budget last year as part of austerity measures designed to rebalance the books during a time of struggle. The organisation now finds itself unable to fund new projects, according to the Ukrainian online newspaper Gazeta.ua. Among film-makers affected are Miroslav Slaboshpytskiy, whose film Plemya (The Tribe) won the 2014 Cannes Critics’ Week grand prize. His new project, Luxembourg, had been expected to receive funding after winning praise from administrators in an annual competition for financial assistance.

The agency’s £1.8m (63.8m hryvnias) 2015 budget is not expected to cover a shortfall of cash required to pay for existing films which the agency has agreed to fund. The organisation needs to find £3.5m (120.7m hryvnias) for projects it is already contracted to finance.