“Ukraine in focus” at the European Film Festival in Palić (Serbia)
The Ukrainian Institute presented a program of Ukrainian cinema “Ukraine in focus” at the 29th European Film Festival in Palić, which took place in Serbia from July 16 to 22, 2022.
The aim of the project
— popularisation of Ukrainian cinema and culture abroad, establishment of international institutional cooperation between Ukraine and Serbia in the field of cinematography, and providing a context about Ukrainian realities in the language of cinema.
About Palić European Film Festival
The Palić European Film Festival is currently one of the crucial cultural events in Serbia, one of the most important film festivals in the region and one among the few in the world with 100% of the European film content. The purpose of the festival, founded in 1992 by the town of Subotica, is to present the most significant achievements of modern European cinema and nurture the traditions of authorial and artistic cinema, in order to contribute to the cultural life not only of Subotica and the Republic of Serbia, but also of the entire region. The festival contains nine programs, including the “Country in focus” program, which traditionally showcases the best new films of the selected country.
In 2022, Ukraine became the focus country of the 29th film festival in Palić.
Programme
The Ukrainian Institute presented a selection of six full-length films of Ukrainian directors, created in 2020 and 2021. Also, 1 short film was displayed in another festival’s program.
As part of the program, the festival’s audience watched the following Ukrainian films:
- “Reflection” by Valentyn Vasyanovych,
- “Bad roads” by Natalia Vorozhbyt,
- “Rhino” by Oleh Sentsov,
- “Stop-Zemlia” by Kateryna Gornostai,
- “Roses. Film-Cabaret” by Irena Stetsenko,
- “This rain will never stop” by Alina Horlova.
Screenings took place from July 17 to 22, 2022.
Besides the “Ukraine in focus” program, films of Ukrainian directors were presented in the main program and the “Parallels and Meetings” program. The film “Vision of a Butterfly” by Maksym Nakonechny became the best film in the “Parallels and Meetings” program, and the film “Pamfir” by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk received an award for the best direction in the main program and a special selection of the jury. Both films are participants of the promotion program of Ukrainian cinema abroad proMOTION by the Ukrainian Institute.
“Of course, the audience was most concerned about what is happening in Ukraine and the films we showed, because they demonstrate the preconditions of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Serbia is a complex country and perceives the war through the prism of its traumas and events, so our perception was for many a revelation. Maksym Nakonechny presented his film “Vision of a Butterfly” in person, “Pamfir” was presented by the performer of one of the roles Olena Khokhlatkina. This is a good case of how cultural diplomacy can facilitate the delivery of important messages.”