The Ukrainian Oscar Committee has chosen a film that will represent Ukraine at the 94th Academy Awards of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the "International Feature Film" category. It was a painting by Natalka Vorozhbyt "Bad Roads".
Given the conflict of interest, this year, the film was chosen by 11 members of the Ukrainian Oscar Committee from Ukraine. 5 films took part in the national selection, all of them were created with state support. Natalka Vorozhbyt's film "Bad Roads" received 5 votes and 3 additional points (given for the world premiere at the "A" class festival, an award at the "A" class festival, and reviews in specialized international publications). Valentin Vasyanovich's film "Reflection" - 2 votes and 2 additional points, Oleg Sentsov's film "Rhino" - 1 vote and 2 additional points, Kateryna Hornostay's film "Stop-Zemlia" - 3 votes and 3 additional points, Villen Novak's film "Why I'm alive"- 0 votes and 0 extra points.
This year's selection was genuinely competitive and dramatic: the films competed, each with the undeniable virtues necessary for future participation in the Oscar race. As a result, the Ukrainian Oscar Committee in some way confirmed the decisions of film critics and members of the Ukrainian Film Academy, who have already given their prizes to "Bad Roads". We wish the creators of the tape success!
Alik Shpyliuk, Chairman of the Ukrainian Oscar Committee
In 2020, the famous playwright and screenwriter Natalka Vorozhbyt debuted with the film Bad Roads. The film won the 77th Venice Film Festival, and this year received a record 15 nominations for the Golden Whirlwind Film Award.
Oksana Parafenyuk / Babel
The film "Bad Roads" consists of five short stories about the inhabitants of Donbass, whose lives run on both sides of the line of demarcation. The Five Broken Roads are five stories of love, hate, trust, betrayal, and violation of personal borders against the background of the violation of state borders.
