The 17th Odesa International Film Festival will start in Kyiv on August 27. Over nine days—from September 4—viewers will be shown premieres of the most anticipated national films and international festival hits. Industry professionals will be able to join discussions and master classes, UNN writes with a link to the press service of OIFF.
The festival’s main venues will be the Zhovten and Oscar cinemas. The festival program includes International and National Competition Programs, special screenings, and separate industry and educational events. OIFF traditionally combines Ukrainian cinema with international festival works and gives audiences the opportunity to see most of the films on the big screen before their theatrical release in Ukraine.
Ukrainian and international films
As part of the National Competition Program, OIFF will present 13 Ukrainian feature films. The films address the themes of war, its consequences, and the search for a future.
Participants include the documentaries "Because He Was of Cossack Stock" directed by Roman Krupach, "The Miner" directed by Mykola But, "Clouds Fly at Great Speed" directed by Roman Ostrovskyi, "Maidan Time Machine" directed by Volodymyr Tykhyi, and others. There are also the fiction films "For Victory!" directed by Valentyn Vasianovych, "Kira’s Dream" directed by Denys Kolesnikov, and "The Soloist" directed by Serhii Storozhev.
The International Competition Program includes feature films from Europe, North and South America. This year’s selection brings together films about women’s lives in different countries and historical circumstances.
Among the announced films are the Polish-Czech film "Brother" directed by Maciej Sobieszczański, the Bulgarian-Greek film "Dirty Money—White Nights" by directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, the American film "Hot" by Ramsey Bashur, and other works by international male and female directors.
OIFF will also present the "Gala Premieres" program separately. It includes films that reflect in different ways on the experience of war and the desire to change the future. They include the Ukrainian-Canadian film "Distance to Independence" directed by Dariia Sarycheva, the Ukrainian film "Dreamland? Land of Action!" by director Volodymyr Mula, the Ukrainian documentary "Photographs from the War" directed by Ivanka-Kate Yakovyna, and others.
The winners of the competition programs will be determined by international and national juries according to the categories, while the winner of the Grand Prix will be determined by the audience vote. The Grand Prix winner will receive the "Golden Duke" statuette and a cash prize of UAH 75,000.
OIFF Professional Program
An important part of the festival will be the Film Industry Office. It is a platform for professional communication, support, and development of Ukrainian film projects and the film industry as a whole, as well as for presenting the Ukrainian film industry to the international community.
Distributors, buyers, festival selectors, representatives of cinemas and specialized film companies, investors, film creators (actors, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, production designers), and producers may participate.
The festival is held with the support of the State Film Agency of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. Partners include Work.ua, KSE, VETERANKA, "Children of Heroes," as well as the BRIGHT POINT Skalyha Foundation Charitable Foundation.