13 September 2025

Odesa International Festival presents the program of gala premieres

(PHOTO: a still from the movie Dovzhenko: The Great Compromise)

The Odesa Film Festival presented the films participating in the Gala Premiere program, which currently includes 10 films.

According to the OIFF press service, these are different films.

For example, the film Dovzhenko. The Great Compromise directed by Igor Ivanko. The film, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of Oleksandr Dovzhenko, reveals the controversial path of the artist - from his first attempts in cinema to the creation of masterpieces that have become symbols of Ukrainian poetic cinema.

Another film is The Second Breath by Maria Kondakova. The documentary tells the story of four soldiers with experience of amputations and a battle with a wound. Having lost their body parts but not their spirits, they set out to conquer Kilimanjaro to prove that life with prostheses can be full of adventure and meaning.

"The Ukrainian" by Viktor Nordensjöld. The film follows the work of the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, who is conducting difficult negotiations on the country's accession to the EU and NATO during the war.

"My Magical World by Elvin Adygozel. Two friends and members of a music band are faced with a choice between their ambitions and friendship. One seeks fame, the other stays true to his childhood dreams. The film debuted at the goEast festival in Wiesbaden.

"Late Shift (Heldin) by Petr Volpe. Nurse Floria works in the surgical department, where she has to balance her daily work with caring for patients and the exhausting rhythm of the hospital. One night, when she starts her shift without enough colleagues, reality turns into a test. The film had its world premiere at the Berlinale and was nominated for an Oscar from Switzerland.

"The Crossing of Times by Cédric Klapisch. Distant relatives inherit an old house and are forced to take an inventory together. The search leads them to unexpected discoveries and intersections with the past - with the life of Adele, who left this house in 1895 for Paris and a new era that opened up the world of industrial and cultural revolutions.

"Pan or Perish" by Antony Cordier. Mehdi planned to spend a quiet summer in the country house of his girlfriend's relatives. But instead of relaxing, he finds himself embroiled in a conflict between a wealthy family and a couple of villa cleaners.

"Children on Fire by Yevhen Afineevsky. The documentary records crimes against Ukrainian children during a full-scale war.

Alpha by Julia Ducorno. Thirteen-year-old Alpha comes home with a tattoo. Her mother is a doctor, and she realizes that the girl might have contracted an unknown disease that turns people into marble statues.

"The Artist" by Oleksiy Taranenko and Dmytro Tarasov. In 2024, the legendary investigator Major Skoruk, who was thought to have been killed in the battles for Gostomel, is discovered alive. He doesn't remember anything after the moment he signed up as a volunteer. Suddenly, Skoruk begins to paint pictures depicting crimes that have not even happened yet. His art turns into a prophetic key to fighting evil.

Кирило Бойко

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