The 15th Odesa International Film Festival has announced the jury lineup that will evaluate films in the National Competition Programme:
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Alisa Kovalenko Ukrainian documentary filmmaker whose films have garnered numerous awards at international film festivals. She is a member of the European and Ukrainian Film Academies. Her films "Alisa in Warland" (IDFA 2015) and "Home Games" (Sheffield DocFest 2018) have been screened at over 100 festivals and received multiple accolades. Her feature documentary "Spring, or We'll Not Die" premiered at the Berlinale 2023 and won Best Documentary at the VII Cinema Awards "Golden Dzyga".
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Lisa-Marie Russo Cinematographer and producer who has led three funds in the UK. Her films have been showcased at prestigious festivals worldwide, in theaters, on television, and streaming platforms. She managed the BFI Doc Society Fund from 2018 to 2021 and was an executive producer on various projects. Co-founder of Fly Film with Kate Ogborn in 2009. She also serves as a consultant for Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket and ACE Producers, and co-producer of the Ukrainian documentary "Poem for Little People" by Autofiction Films.
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Sahraa Karimi Filmmaker, screenwriter, and lecturer from Afghanistan. She founded Kapila Multimedia House in Kabul in 2012 to support independent Afghan filmmakers and artists. Sahra became the first woman to lead Afghan Film, the state film company, and the first Afghan woman to earn a doctorate in filmmaking. Her creative works include about 30 short fiction and documentary films, and she has won several international film awards.
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Wanda Adamik Grítsova Owner of Wandal Production and Alluvium Production companies, former CEO of Media Pro Entertainment Group Slovakia, and former president of the Slovak Film and Television Academy. She is currently working on the films "Flight from Kabul," historical drama "Ice Down," and the TV series "Three Banks of the Danube."
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Mike Figgis Film director, writer, and composer known for integrating these professions. Mike gained recognition with the film "Stormy Monday" (1988). His works include "Internal Affairs" (1990), "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), and "Miss Julie" (1999), and he experimented with split screen in the film "Timecode" (2000), the first real-time digital film. "Lucrezia Borgia" (2011) was the first opera transmitted in 3D across the UK. Mike is also the author of books exploring the challenges of digital cinema and dramatic structures.
The 15th Odesa International Film Festival will take place from July 12 to July 20, 2024, in Kyiv, supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, Ukrainian Cultural Fund, and the Polish Institute in Kyiv.