The 10th Odesa International Film Festival has held yet another celebration of cinematography in the port city of 1 million residents located 480 kilometers south of Kyiv.
The festival took place on July 12-20 and screened over 80 movies. It also held meet-the-artist sessions and workshops.
The event officially closed with a red-carpet awards ceremony at Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater on July 20. There, the jury announced the winners and handed out awards to the top picks of the competition programs.
Ukrainian drama “Homeward,” directed by Crimean Tatar filmmaker Nariman Aliev, split the main prize of the international competition program, Grand Prix, with the Swedish-Georgian drama “And Then We Danced,” which was also selected as the Best Film of the category.
Both of the films received ovations at their Ukrainian premieres in Odesa.
Starring well-known Crimean Tatar actor and filmmaker Akhtem Seitablayev, “Homeward” is a feature film debut for Aliev. It’s a dramatic film telling the tragic story of a Crimean Tatar family, whose oldest son is killed at the war in eastern Ukraine. In response, the father decides to have him buried in Russian-occupied Crimea no matter the obstacles.
“This is an incredibly important achievement for us, as the winner in this nomination is chosen by the audience’s vote,” the makers of “Homeward” wrote in a Facebook post.
“This victory showed that we understand each other despite different languages, beliefs and cultures, that we are ready to talk about important things and feel empathy for such stories. And today there are so many of them,” the post continues.
Directed by Levan Akin, a Swedish filmmaker of Georgian origin, “And Then We Danced” is a romantic drama set in Georgia that offers a look into the love between two male dancers in the conservative traditional dance society. The story is told by the main character, Merab, played by Georgian actor Levan Gelbakhiani. For his convincing and subtle performance, the actor received the Best Acting award.
Although Akin couldn’t attend the ceremony himself, the director passed a letter to the festival through his film’s producer, Katie Danelia.
“Eight years ago, I first came to this festival and I promised myself that I will not return here without a film. Two years later, I returned with a short film, after two more years – with a second short, and in 3 years, I brought a feature,” Akin’s letter reads.
The director wrote that the award belongs to the organizers of the first LGBTQ pride in Georgia in 2013, when thousands of rally participants were violently attacked. Those events sparked Akin’s idea to create “And Then We Danced.”
“This award belongs to all those brave young people who are on the right side of history,” the letter continues.
The Best Director award of the international competition went to Colombian-Ecuadorian filmmaker Alejandro Landes for his drama “Monos,” which explores the chaotic state of war in Latin America.
The Grand Prix of the national competition went to “My Thoughts Are Silent,” the feature film debut of Ukrainian director Antonio Lukić, which was previously named the winner of the East of the West program at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film is an existential story about a composer and sound engineer who experiences many misfortunes in both his professional and personal life.
Andriy Lidagovskyi, who played the main role in “My Thoughts Are Silent,” received a special mention from the jury for his performance. His colleague on the set, Irma Vitovska, won the Best Acting award in the national competition.
Directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Vadym Ilkov, “My Father is My Mother’s Brother,” was named Best Film in the national competition. Ilkov also received the Best Director prize.
The 13-minute short “The Secret, the Girl and the Boy” by Ukrainian filmmaker Oksana Kazmina, was selected as the Best Short Film in the national competition.
Norwegian film “The Men’s Room,” directed by Peter Sommer, which focuses on a male community of singing fans, was named the best work in the European documentary competition.
Apart from that, the president of the festival, Viktoriya Tigipko, presented the Golden Duke, an award for contributions to cinematography, to Catherine Deneuve, a legendary French actress and special guest of the festival.
As the festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is getting ready for more decades of celebrating cinematography.
“It’s very painful for the artist to not be heard. That is why our goal as a festival today and for the next 10 years is to accelerate the time (this takes) and combine technology and innovation with the film industry. Talent should always find its audience everywhere,” Tigipko said at the closing ceremony.
