Cannes Film Market Unveils Full Ukraine in Focus Programme

The Cannes Film Market (The Marché du Film) presents the full programme “Ukraine in Focus”, which will provide Ukrainian cinematographers and producers with the opportunity for networking, pitching and co-financing. The programme “Ukraine in Focus” within the Cannes Film Festival 2022 will take place on May 21-22.

Key market initiatives, such as Goes to Cannes, Cannes Docs Showcase and Producers Network, will focus on projects and executives from Ukraine in order to support the country which was invaded by Russia on Feb. 24 and has been at war since then. The Ukrainian Institute became a partner of the Producers Network and Cannes Docs.

Producers Network is a section programme of the Cannes Film Festival, which annually brings together more than 500 film professionals from around the world to participate in private meetings and special events. Ukraine will be represented in the film market for the second time with the support of the Ukrainian Institute. Previously, in 2020, five Ukrainian producers took part in the focus of the Producers Network online programme during the first virtual Marché du Film.

This year, the Ukrainian Institute will present six Ukrainian producers as part of a special presentation ‘Ukrainian Producers under the Spotlight’, which will take place on May 21, 2022. It will include six producers, including: 

• Denis Ivanov from Arthouse Traffic, 
• Darya Bassel from Moon Man, 
• Natalia Libet from Digital Religion, 
• Sashko Chubko from Pronto Film, 
• Olga Beskhmelnytsina from ESSE Production House,
• Vladimir Yatsenko from ForeFilms.

Docudays UA together with the Ukrainian Institute organizes the presentation of Ukrainian documentary projects UKRAINIAN SHOWCASE @Cannes Docs, which will take place within the Cannes Docs section:

• “Company of Steel” directed by Yuliia Hontaruk, who also produced with Ivanna Khitsinska, Alexandra Bratyshchenko and Igor Savychenko; 
• “Lagoons. Battle for Paradise” directed by Serhii Lysenko, and produced by Anna Kapustina and Oleksandra Kravchenko; 
• “Listening to the World” directed by Liza Smith and produced by Olha Beskhmelnytsina and Eugene Rachkovsky,
• “Peace for Nina” directed by Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych, and produced by Lyuba Knorozok and Dea Gjinovci.

The Marché du Film will also be joining forces with the Tallinn Black Nights Festival to host an Ukrainian Features Preview. Selected projects include 

• “Rock. Paper. Grenage” directed by Iryna Tsilyk, and produced by Vladimir Yatsenko and Anna Yatsenko at ForeFilms; 
• “When We Were 15” directed by Anna Buryachkova and produced by Natalia Libet and Vitalii Sheremetiev at Digital Religion,
• “Lapalissade” directed by Philip Sotnychenko, and produced by Halyna Kryvorchuk – Viatel, Valeria Sotnychenko and Sashko Chubko at Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema,
• “Lucky Girl” directed by Marysia Nikitiuk, and produced by Yanina Sokolova and Julia Sinkevych at Yanina Sokolova Production.

The Goes To Cannes market strand, which is also being put together with Tallinn Black Nights, will boast projects such as 

• Roman Bondarchuk’s “The Editorial Office” produced by Elemag pictures; 
• Taras Dron’s “The Glass House” produced by Directory films, Contemporary Ukrainian Сinema and Nord Production; 
• Tonia Noyabrova’s “Do You Love Me?” produced by Family Production; 
• Natalka Vorozhbyt’s “Demons,” produced by Kristi Film and Arthouse Traffic,
• Simon Mozgovyi’s “Chrysantemum Day” produced by Mainstream Pictures.