Swear To Me (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Swear To Me is a 15-minute Ukrainian drama about Vasyl, a villager torn between family tradition and his brother Ivan’s final wishes. As Ivan prepares for deployment to a front-line position, he asks to be cremated by his partner in Kyiv if he dies, challenging the values of the community he left behind.

Swear To Me is a 2026 Ukrainian drama centered on a difficult conversation between two brothers. Set in a remote Carpathian village, the film places a deeply personal request against the expectations of family, religion and local custom.

Its compact 15-minute running time focuses the story on Vasyl and Ivan as they confront questions of identity, belonging and what it means to honor someone after death. The premise is intimate, but the conflict reaches beyond one household.

Swear To Me movie details

Story without spoilers

Vasyl lives with his mother in a remote Carpathian village, where he helps with the traditional process of fulling coverlets and carries responsibility for the household. His younger brother Ivan returns unexpectedly before being sent to a front-line position.

Ivan, a gay soldier, wants to discuss his last will. He asks that, if he dies, his partner cremate him in Kyiv rather than bury him in the village, where he was never fully accepted. Vasyl must decide whether to respect that final request or follow the traditions and moral expectations of his community.

What to expect

This is a concise, character-driven drama built around a family disagreement with serious emotional and cultural implications. The story’s central tension comes from the contrast between Ivan’s clearly stated wishes and the customs that shape Vasyl’s home and village.

The film also carries a Ukrainian rural setting, a military context and an intimate sibling conflict. Given its short runtime, the narrative is likely to remain focused on the brothers’ conversation and the decision placed before Vasyl, without room for an expansive subplot structure.

Cast and creative team

Yurii Vykhovanets plays Vasyl, while Viktor Abramiuk portrays Ivan. Hanna Babynska appears as their mother. Khrystyna Braslavska directed and wrote Swear To Me.

• Yurii Vykhovanets as Vasyl
• Viktor Abramiuk as Ivan
• Hanna Babynska as Mother

Release and production context

Swear To Me was released in 2026 and has a listed release date of October 28, 2026. The film runs for 15 minutes and is classified as a drama. It was made in Ukraine, is in Ukrainian, and lists Lviv Film Hub and Lviv Film Commission among its production companies.

Production companies: Lviv Film Hub, Lviv Film Commission

Movies Dock view

Swear To Me presents a focused family conflict shaped by tradition, wartime uncertainty and a question of personal dignity. Its short format and specific setting frame the story as an intimate Ukrainian drama about whether love and responsibility can make room for a wish that challenges long-held customs.

Film data:
TMDB