OIFF LAUNCHES SPECIAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMME “WAY TO FREEDOM” //
UKRAINIAN RETROSPECTIVE OF “FORGOTTEN MASTERPIECES”

Kiew, Ukraine, July 1, 2014: The Odessa International Film Festival (July 11 - 19, 2014) presents a programme of seven films documenting current changes and upheavals in civil societies. Inspired by the political situation in Ukraine, the programme not only shows the latest documentary works produced in the country, but also risks glances across borders to Romania, Russia, Czech Republic and Egypt. The retrospective this year features five films of different epochs of Ukrainian film history. Even though the films are considered as masterpieces, they are hardly known internationally.

All films shown in the WAY TO FREEDOM programme are accompanied by a Q&A session afterwards, with filmmakers and protagonists present. Julia Sinkevych, Executive Producer of the Festival, explains why the Festival introduces this new section: “Our Festival is a major cultural event and cinema is a powerful tool. We had to reflect the recent events in Ukraine and have therefore chosen to show films about the role of civil society in difficult political situations. The selection features films describing real events taking place in different countries, mostly countries that have much in common with Ukraine. Films from Egypt, Romania, Czech Republic and Russia show the people's desire to live in democratic and liberal societies with a high respect of human rights. Of course the film MAIDAN by Sergey Loznitsa is the most anticipated by Ukrainian audiences and we're happy to present it in the framework of the programme.”

The selected films:

BLACK BOOK OF MAIDAN directed by Anastasiya Lysenko, Asya Khmeleva, Yuri Katyn, Hanna Holtsberg, Anna Korzh, Antin Syomin, Anna Lysun, Victoria Zhukova, Alyona Kosinova, Anastasia Krysko, Vladislav Rohalevsky, Anna Borisova, Alina Chernobay, Ukraine 2014

I AM FEMEN directed by Alain Margot, Switzerland, Ukraine 2014

MAIDAN directed by Sergei Loznitsa, Ukraine, 2014

PUSSY VS PUTIN directed by Gogol's Wives, Russia, 2013, 63 min

THE SQUARE directed by Jehane Noujaim, Egypt, United States, 2013

VELVET TERRORISTS directed by Pavol Pekarčík, Ivan Ostrochovský, Peter Kerekes, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Croatia, 2013

WHERE ARE YOU BUCHAREST? directed by Vlad Petri, Romania 2013

Ukrainian masterpieces rediscovered
Since its first edition, the Odessa International Film Festival presented a retrospective devoted to Ukrainian cinema, featuring a vast retrospective with works by director Sergei Parajanov last year. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary edition of the Festival, five Ukrainian film experts have proposed five Ukrainian films they believed to be real masterpieces, but, at the same time, are mostly not acknowledged as such by international film critics and film historians.
Alik Shpilyuk, OIFF programme director, says. “Summing these lists up we've got the final selection of the five ‚Forgotten Masterpieces’ in the time range of 1927-1993. It has turned out that those five films in fact represent all stages of Ukrainian film industry development and, also, both Ukrainian film capitals: Odessa and Kiev. The five films also reflect the work of almost all film studios existing in Ukraine at that time. We are sure that this is an interesting selection for both international and local guests and participants.“

The selected films:

TWO DAYS directed by Georgiy Stabovy, USSR 1927

A STRICT YOUNG MAN directed by Abram Room, USSR 1936

AT GREAT COST directed by Mark Donskoy, USSR 1957

FROM SHEER BOREDOM directed by Artur Voytetsky, USSR 1967

WILD LOVE directed by Villen Novak, USSR 1993