Retrospectives, master classes and premieres: how the third day of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival went

Cinematography in all its manifestations - this is how the third day of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival can be described, which combined retrospectives, competition screenings and special events. On this day, viewers could watch films by outstanding directors of the past and modern premieres, as well as join creative discussions.

The day began with a screening of the film "Anna and the Wolves", which was included in the program of the Carlos Saura retrospective. The film "Beyond Flamenco" was also presented from the same program on the third day.

Then the audience saw "Afternoons of Solitude" by director Albert Serra from the program "Festival of Festivals". Also, as part of the Wim Wenders retrospective, screenings of "A Trick of the Light" and "The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick" were held.

The presentation of the film "Ange" by director Tony Gatlif, which was included in the "Festival of Festivals" program, attracted particular attention on this day. Immediately after this, the audience was able to watch a film from the "Family Values: Children" program - ‘The Stepmother's Bond’ by Yolanda Centeno.

Creative events also became an important part of the third day. In particular, a master class was held by director Joe Hill and cameraman Nathaniel Brown "Dance as a Documentary Technique". Joe Hill shared with those present interesting details about his approach to work: "We decided to conduct a series of interviews, but record them through movement. It's as if we were asking the dancers questions, but the answer would be not through words, but through body language."

Acquaintance with the European competition program of this day began with the film "Six Days in Spring" by director Joachim Lafosse. Also in the program "Best of Europe" was presented the film "Waves" directed by Jiri Madla.

The Ukrainian block of the festival that day presented the film "Antarctica: War Diaries" directed by Volodymyr Khomko within the program "Festival of Ukrainian Festivals". Tasya Pugach, one of the producers of the film, noted the features of the film that distinguish it from others with a similar theme: "Our film tells the story of the first expedition to Antarctica during the full-scale invasion. The film was shot by a participant in this expedition, Volodymyr Khomko, and I believe that this is precisely its value - a view from the inside."

A high-profile event was the screening of the film "Colours of Time” by Cedric Klapisch, which was included in the program "Gala Premieres". As part of "Focus on Poland", a screening of the film "The Hourglass Sanatorium" directed by Wojciech Jerzy Gas took place.

Previously presented in the “Art of Trauma” program, Joe Gill’s film “Match in a Haystack” received a new stage in its life on September 26 — an exclusive digital premiere on the MEGOGO media service. The film tells the stories of Ukrainian dancers and will be available for free to all platform users for a week after its release.

The third day of the festival was concluded with screenings of two films: “Special Operation” by Oleksiy Radynskyi, which was included in the National Documentary Competition Program, as well as “Chormeister” directed by Ondřej Provaznik from the “Festival of Festivals” program. Oleksiy Radynskyi spoke about the extremely stressful conditions in which materials for the future film were collected: “The people who kept the filmed materials filmed everything – they risked their lives so that we could all see the film.”

In addition to film screenings and creative events, the Film Industry Office section started that day. The Architect's House hosted events for film professionals aimed at supporting and developing Ukrainian film projects and the film industry in general.

Anna Machukh opened the program with a short speech: "Currently, a lot of opportunities from our partners have opened up for our filmmakers. So I wish you fruitful work."

Mykola Ulyanov gave the participants an overview of the opportunities provided by the Creative Europe program and provided important information about the options that will appear in the near future: "The main goals of the program are the protection, development and promotion of European cultural heritage and strengthening the competitiveness and potential of the cultural and creative sectors, in particular the audiovisual sector. Strengthening the economic potential as a result of your projects is a special priority. And I will return to this issue during our discussion, because it is important to understand which applications are attractive."

This was followed by a panel discussion on national opportunities for filmmakers, including grants and scholarships from the President of Ukraine, as well as programs of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. Speakers included Dmytro Reshetchenko, Deputy Executive Director for Project Work at the UCF, and Svitlana Pazychenko, Chief Specialist at the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Art Education.

Dmytro Reshetchenko spoke in detail about the opportunities provided to filmmakers by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation: “A feature of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation is that we support projects that are not relevant to Europe. For example, the topic of war always causes a restrained reaction from European donors, while for us it is the everyday life in which we live. We must protect all this in order to show these crimes to the world.”

The panel discussion "Financing the Production and Promotion of Mass-Market Film Projects: Challenges, Risks, and Solutions" brought together specialists who comprehensively discussed the system of attracting investments, partnerships, and mechanisms for achieving commercial results.

The discussion was moderated by Olga Panteleimonova (production company UPHub). The conversation was joined by Mykola Ulyanov (Creative Europe), Natalia Baydan (CEO of Planeta Kino), Polina Tolmachova (Marketing Director of ICTV, ICTV2) and Svitlana Danilchenko (Product Placement and Sponsorship Producer).

Mykola Ulyanov explained what experts and the Grant Fund need to see in order to assess the potential of the project submitted by the team: “One of the main goals of the European Fund is to increase the potential of the audiovisual sector, so the prospects for product distribution should become a tool for strengthening the actions involved in the chain of creation of an audiovisual product – from independent production to distributors and sales agents. As soon as this request becomes noticeable, it makes the application more attractive for the grantor, as it meets the overall goal – strengthening the economic capabilities, especially the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector in the global market.”

Natalia Baydan, General Director of the Planeta Kino cinema chain, spoke in more detail about the audience's requests and trends that have begun to emerge since the beginning of the full-scale invasion: "Our audience has become very active in watching Ukrainian documentaries - this is a recognition of the skill and the fact that our artists can create wonderful projects that arouse interest in the audience. Therefore, we need to continue to support our producer, provide our artists with work to finish and bring it to cinemas."

Polina Tolmachova, Marketing Director of ICTV, ICTV2 TV channels, spoke about trends in the television sector: "The most popular form for us remains film screenings, and it is very interesting to watch how Ukrainian films compete with Hollywood. I want to give an example - August 24, Independence Day in Ukraine, and we had 2 leaders in TV screenings in Ukraine. This is the film "Dogs" on Starlight and "The Witch of Konotop" on 1+1. This is one example of how domestic films are doing well on Ukrainian television in 2025. And this trend also applies to complex authorial films that are getting good ratings.”

Svitlana Danylchenko made important remarks about the producer’s work on finding partnerships: “Every producer should know exactly what audience he is working for and what he is making a film about. Next, there should be an understanding of whether the producer wants partners and how much they will be involved in the project. Because when the project has money and does not need a sponsor, we can decide whether we accept the sponsor’s terms. But when there is no funding or it is limited, you have to maneuver between wanting to do something beautiful and creative, but also wanting to make money. Therefore, it is necessary to understand from the beginning whether commercial sponsors will come to the project and whether you are ready to give your creation under the sponsors’ terms.”

Photo from the third day of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TCM_659kL93uSAWQDX8gQAKAy_i9XEbA

The Odesa International Film Festival is supported by:

Ukrainian State Film Agency

The European Union and Creative Europe Desk Ukraine

Adam Mickiewicz Institute “Instytut Adama Mickiewicza”

Polish Institute in Kyiv

German Films

In partnership with the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine

Official Sponsor – ARARAT

Official Automotive Partner – BMW Ukraine

General Partner of Film Industry Office – UPHub

Official jewelry partner - Carrera Y Carrera General