The 11th edition of the Odesa International Film Festival (OIFF) is due to unspool its digital edition at a completely different time to its usual mid-July dates on the coast of the Black Sea, as this year it will run from 25 September-3 October.

Despite the new format, OIFF will retain its traditional open-air performance, which will take place in its “physical” location at the Potemkin Stairs, where the silent horror film The Golem: How He Came into the World by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener will be screened, marking the 100^th anniversary of the early German Expressionist oeuvre. The screening of the film on 2 October will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra, which will perform a soundtrack written by Israeli composer Betty Olivero.

On the first day of the festival, the political comedy The Barefoot Emperor [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jessica Woodworth
scheda film] by directorial duo Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth will serve as the opening film. This is the sequel to the couple’s previous feature, King of the Belgians [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jessica Woodworth, Peter B…
scheda film], which received the Grand Prix at the eighth OIFF. Furthermore, the festival will close with the Berlinale-screened biographical drama Charlatan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Agnieszka Holland
scheda film] by Polish director Agnieszka Holland, who received the OIFF Golden Duke for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.

More than 960 films were submitted to take part in the competition programmes. The festival's International Competition consists of 12 movies that will be competing for the OIFF Grand Prix, the Golden Duke, and other awards. As usual, the majority of the selected films are European co-productions, and among them are: Guillaume Brac’s À l'abordage [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Guillaume Brac
scheda film] (France), Fabrice du Welz’s Adoration [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Fabrice du Welz
scheda film] (Belgium/France), Márk Bodzsár’s Comrade Draculich [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Márk Bodzsár
scheda film] (Hungary), Ignas Jonynas’ Invisible [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ignas Jonynas e Kristupas …
scheda film] (Lithuania/Latvia/Ukraine/Spain), Maura Delpero’s Maternal [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Maura Delpero
scheda film] (Italy/Argentina), Ivan Ostrochovský’s Servants [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ivan Ostrochovský
scheda film] (Slovakia/Romania/Czech Republic/Ireland), Ulrich Köhler and Henner Winckler’s A Voluntary Year [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Henner Winckler
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intervista: Amjad Abu Alala
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intervista: Valentyn Vasyanovych
scheda film] (Ukraine), Kim Yong Hoon's Beasts That Cling to the Straw (South Korea) and Adam Rehmeier’s Dinner in America (USA).

The international jury will be headed up by Canadian composer Howard Shore, who will be joined by Icelandic actress and theatrical director Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Portuguese actress Joana Ribeiro, Ukrainian theatre, film and voice actress Larysa Rusnak, and Armenian-born French actor and director Serge Avedikian.

For the third year in a row, Ukrainian documentarian Serhiy Bukovsky has curated the European Documentary Competition, which comprises eight films: Conductivity by Anna-Karin Grönroos (Finland), Gevar's Land by Qutaiba Barhamji (France/Qatar), I Am the Sun by Ilaria Gambarelli (Spain), I Want You If You Dare [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Dagmar Smržová (Czech Republic), Las Hermanas de Rocinante by Alexandra Kaufmann (Germany/Switzerland), The Pageant [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Eytan Ipeker
scheda film] by Eytan Ipeker (Turkey/France/Israel/Germany), The Prophet and the Space Aliens [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Yoav Shamir (Israel/Austria/South Africa) and Summerwar by Moritz Shulz (Germany).

The members of the European Documentary Competition jury are artistic director of the Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest, FIPRESCI and European Film Academy member Nikolaj Nikitin, Ukrainian film director Iryna Tsilyk, and Syrian journalist and director Waad Al-Kateab.