Closing Ceremony of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival Held in Kyiv

On October 3, Kyiv hosted the closing ceremony of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival, which had been taking place in the capital since September 24. The evening was hosted by actress and TV presenter Dasha Tregubova, host of the Fakty news program on ICTV Oksana Huttsait, and journalist and anchor of TSN, 1+1 Marathon Sviatoslav Hrynchuk. The event’s atmosphere combined solemnity, gratitude, and faith in the future of Ukrainian cinema. On stage, participants honored the heroes currently defending the country, as well as everyone who continues to create culture even in difficult times.

Among the speakers addressing the guests was General Director of OIFF Anna Machukh, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna, and Head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency Andriy Osipov, they expressed their gratitude to the festival team, partners, audience, and defenders, thanks to whom this year marked another step toward the revival of the national film industry.

“I want to thank everyone — the jury members who bravely came to watch the films, all participants of the competition programs, because making films today means showing incredible courage, and of course, our viewers, because it is for you that we create and screen movies. A few years ago, it was hard to imagine that Ukrainian films would be selling out theaters. This year, they received the strongest response and the highest ratings. This doesn’t mean Ukrainian cinema has surpassed European or American productions — we still have room to grow. But it’s an unprecedented vote of confidence from the audience and a confirmation of Ukrainians’ desire to watch their own, national cinema,” said Anna Machukh, General Director of OIFF.

“I’m happy to be among those who film, act, edit, produce, take risks, and ultimately create cinema. You are special people because you notice meanings — that’s a gift and a skill not given to everyone. You can visualize them and show them to others, and they appreciate it. The most important thing is that these meanings go beyond our own lives: they will remain after us, our children will see them, they will be seen centuries from now. It’s incredibly important that right now we are doing this enormous work,” emphasized Tetiana Berezhna, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.

Andrii Osipov, Head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency, noted: “During the festival, I left the cinema several times with a broken heart. What I saw on the screen was overwhelming. I had to find strength to recover — which means the themes of the films presented at the festival are extraordinarily powerful.”

The musical part of the evening opened with a performance by Taras Stoliar, a bandurist and serviceman — a world-class Ukrainian musician who has shared the stage with Bono and Sting. His performance became a symbol of unity between culture and resilience.

A deeply moving segment of the ceremony was the poetic-musical performance featuring Ukrainian servicemen — violinist and composer Moisei Bondarenko, poet Pavlo Vyshchebaba, and actress and host Daria Tregubova.Together, they created a heartfelt dialogue between music and words. Vyshchebaba’s poem conveyed the voice of the front line; Tetiana Vlasova’s poem, performed by Tregubova, echoed the voice of millions of Ukrainians who persevere; and Moisei’s music complemented them perfectly, expressing truth beyond words and explanations.

The first awards of the evening were presented by the jury of the “European Competition” Program, which included Gyda Velvin Myklebust, Denys Tarasov, Irena Katsialovich, Peter Rommel, Piotr Bartuszek, Serhii Lavreniuk, and Juris Poškus.The Grand Prize for “Best European Feature Filmʼ” was awarded to Six jours ce printemps-là, 2025, France–Luxembourg–Belgium, directed by Joachim Lafosse. A Special Jury Diploma was presented to the film U Are the Universe, directed by Pavlo Ostrikov.

In the “National Documentary” Competition, the jury consisting of Aliaksei Paluyan, Katalin Moldovai, Konrad Szolajski, Taras Tomenko, and Hugo Rosak — awarded the Golden Duke for “Best Ukrainian Feature-Length Documentary” to A Simple Soldier (directed by Artem Ryzhykov and Juan Camilo Cruz).The film also received a monetary award from the festival’s official banking partner, Pivdennyi Bank.

Andrii Bukin, Head of Pivdennyi Bank, said: “We are very proud to have the honor of supporting Ukrainian cinema. I wish everyone peace, love and good Ukrainian films.”

The special diplomas were awarded by the jury to the films: Dad’s Lullaby (dir. Lesia Diak) and The Music of Being (dir. Hennadii Chernomashyntsev).

Svitlana Tulchynska, executive producer of The Music of Being, shared her emotions upon receiving the award: “When we were making our film, at times it felt like we were hitting a wall. But things always worked out — at first, we thought it was some kind of magic, but later we realized it was because of the love we put into the process. There was always love on our set. Thank you to the festival team for noticing and honoring us with such a prestigious award. We will keep moving forward and believe that miracles will continue to happen in our lives.”

The jury of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) — consisting of Ukrainian critics Dmytro Sydorenko, Ihor Kromf, and Serhii Trymbach — also presented their award.The FIPRESCI Diploma for Best Ukrainian Feature Documentary went to A Simple Soldier.

Serhii Trymbach commented: “This year, all the works were strong — and watching them was not easy, because war is terrifying. Yet at the same time, these films are about the beauty of Ukrainians, about moments of catharsis that allow us to endure trials and continue believing in justice, in goodness and beauty. As for the winner — our decision was unanimous.”

Artem Ryzhykov, director of A Simple Soldier, expressed gratitude to those who supported him in making the film: “I want to thank everyone who believed in me — my producer, my family, my 241st brigade, my commander. This film tells the story of soldiers who fight and never give up for the sake of our people.”

The main festival award — the Grand Prix — determined by audience voting, was awarded to U Are the Universe by Pavlo Ostrikov, which received the Golden Duke statuette and a monetary prize.

The director shared his emotions: “I want to recall my first festival — it was the Odesa International Film Festival in 2012. The first early screening at 10 a.m. amazed me — it was the first time I saw people applaud a film, the first time I felt the culture of cinema and the people who love it. I watched two or three films every day, and it was at that first festival that I realized I wanted to make films. At the time, I was a lawyer with no film education. I remember sitting on the beach in Odesa, already thinking about my first short film. Even then, the idea for You Are the Universe was in my mind. I dream that someone in this hall today, perhaps not yet connected to the film industry, will decide to make their own film.”

Volodymyr Yatsenko, co-producer of the film, added: “Working with Pavlo was incredible — he’s a perfectionist, and I’m sure right now he’s thinking, ‘It’s just the Grand Prix.’ But I hope this is exactly how he imagined the ending of this journey that began eight years ago. It was a long road. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who participated in making this film — and there were many. Everyone took a risk, because nothing like this had been done before — with live-action sequences and extensive CGI. We made this film through COVID and during the war, so it was a challenge.”

A separate segment of the ceremony honored the winners of the Film Industry Office pitching sessions. In the Development category, prizes of ₴40,000 each were awarded to the projects: Golden Leggings (dir. Arkadii Nepytaliuk, prod. Regina Maryanovska-Davydzon) and Entangled (dir. Ivan Orlenko, prod. Charlotte Krüger). In the Work in Progress section, the main prize of ₴80,000 from general partner UpHub went to the film Every Death Diminishes Me (dir. Serhii Bazhenov, prod. Inna Lastochkina). The special informational package from StarLight Media was awarded to Sequela (dir. Alla Mitiukova, prod. Oleksii Yeroshenko). The project Kira’s Dream (dir. Denys Kolesnikov, prod. Andrii Korniienko) received marketing support from StarLight Creative, as well as sound post-production services in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 formats from Cinema Sound UA Production, valued at $3,500.

The winners of the MEGOGO AI Film Fest — an initiative for directors and artists experimenting with artificial intelligence — were announced at the end of the evening.The Grand Prix went to Yevhen Chernyshov for his work A Session with a Psychologist. Other winners: The Path — Best Cinematic (Volodymyr and Valeriia Pridorohiny), Night Shift — Best Animation (Adshot Creative), Profession — Best Screenplay (Mariia Zozulia), Synthetic — Best Vertical Format (amheus), Still Waters Run Deep — AI Vision: UKRAINE (Olha Moroz)

Valeriia Tolochina, MEGOGO’s Marketing Director, noted: “This is our second year participating in OIFF. Last year, there were nearly 100 works — but not enough for a full two-hour screening. This year, the number has doubled, and more importantly, the quality has improved tremendously. We, as people from the creative industry, understand that such progress in one year is impossible without the use of new technologies. The showcased works were of very high quality, and we were proud to present them at a full screening session.”

The Odesa International Film Festival was 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

Technological Partner -Hisense