Odesa Film Festival announces programs with local stories

The Odesa Film Festival presented new programs combining topical issues, local stories and the best European films. Special attention is paid to the environment, cultural heritage of Odesa and human comedy.

This was reported by the press service of the Odesa International Film Festival.

The 16th Odesa International Film Festival has announced new screening programs that cover topical issues, original artistic voices and the best of international cinema. This year, the festival will present sections dedicated to ecology, Odesa's cultural heritage, European awards and human comedy.

The section All Creatures, Big and Small will show films about animal rescue and environmental challenges: the documentaries Checkpoint Zoo about a zoo behind enemy lines during the war, No Shadow in the Forest about ecocide in Ukrainian national parks, and the almanac War Through the Eyes of Animals created by leading Ukrainian directors.

The Odesa Accent program is dedicated to the cultural life of the city and the legacy of Kira Muratova. The films include I Don't Want Others to Talk About Me, Domisil, and Gallery Norma, which opens up the world of the Odesa underground in 2008-2011. The film When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea combines the lives of citizens with the stories of street cats during the war.

The new block "Best of Europe" will present national award-winning European films in partnership with the Ukrainian Film Academy. Among them are A Village Near Paradise (Austria, Germany, France, Somalia), The Grand Tour (Portugal, Italy, France), Full of Love (Denmark), The 47th (Spain), The Waves (Czech Republic, Slovakia).

The Human Comedy section will showcase films where important topics are revealed through humor and irony: the Icelandic-Spanish Divine Medicine, the family comedy Who's Who, and the French film The Man Who Saw the Bear Who Saw the Man.

The press service noted that the festival combines acute social issues, local stories and the best European films, creating a unique experience for the audience.

The Odesa Film Festival will feature four special programs. The audience will see films from Poland, Iceland, Spain, France, Germany and other countries that reveal the themes of love, family and self-discovery through personal stories. The centerpiece of the program is the films that, through family dramas, losses and personal experiences, speak about universal themes: love and death, the search for home and roots.

Анна Бальчінос