This year, the National Competition of the 13th Odesa International Film Festival, in view of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, took place within the Warsaw International Film Festival. The programme "Odesa - Warsaw: Ukrainian competition" included 11 full-length films and 7 short works.
The winners of the competition were determined by an expert jury, which included producer and director Dariusz Jablonski (Poland), screenwriter and producer Ilona Lepkowska (Poland), and producer Ivanna Dyadyura (Ukraine).
The decision of the jury in the OMCF competition was awarded to the Best Ukrainian feature film and the Best documentary film.
The best Ukrainian full-length film was Maksym Nakonechny's full-length debut, "Butterfly Vision".
"I am proud of Maxim (Nakonechny) and the team. I want to note that I, Max, and our entire team have many girlfriends who are currently defending Ukraine as soldiers, fighting for their lives as paramedics, some of our girlfriends, whom we know personally, are in captivity. Therefore, it is extremely important to talk about them, to do everything so that their stories are known and seen. And that is why our film is very important and I am happy that it won an award. Thank you to the Odesa Film Festival, thank you to Warsaw," shared the co-author of the script of the winning film, Iryna Tsylyk.
Taras Tomenko's film "Terykony" was named the best documentary film.
"The jury of the National Competition of the Odesa International Film Festival in Warsaw saw eleven full-length and seven short films. The short film is always the territory of experiment and young, daring spirit. We appreciate the work of all the filmmakers who participated in the competition with their stories. Still, at the same time, we were faced with a deep desire to support a film about a young and promising generation. And we hope that the directors of short films will support us in this non-standard decision. After long deliberation, the jury proposed to award the second prize to a documentary film that brings an important context to the tragic situation in which Ukrainian society found itself. At the jury's request, the proposal was accepted by the festival's director," commented the jury.
"Until February, we had many plans and dreams. But now we all have only one dream - peace in our country. Our artists protect Ukraine from Russian soldiers instead of making films. But Ukrainian cinema is alive and powerful - it is our culture and the voices of our people. This year we have a powerful programme of the National Competition, and I am glad to have the opportunity to hold it here in Warsaw, where many Ukrainian filmmakers have found refuge and support from the Polish people. We thank the Warsaw Film Festival for the fact that we are here now, it was not easy, but we succeeded. Thanks to the jury for your difficult work. Thanks to the jury for your difficult work. Thanks to Dariusz Jablonski and all Polish filmmakers for your strong support! Dziękuję bardzо! Glory to Ukraine!" - said the general director of the Odesa International Film Festival, Anna Machuh, at the award ceremony.
