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ODESA 2017 Awards

King of the Belgians and Summer 1993 impress at the Odesa International Film Festival

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- My Happy Family was also awarded, while the 8th edition of the leading Ukrainian festival honoured Isabelle Huppert and Agnieszka Holland for their contribution to film

King of the Belgians and Summer 1993 impress at the Odesa International Film Festival
The winners of the Odesa International Film Festival (© OIFF)

Well-travelled directors Peter Brosens’ and Jessica Woodworth’s King of the Belgians [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Woodworth, Peter Br…
film profile
]
grabbed the audience vote and left with the main prize – the Grand Prix – of the 8th Odesa International Film Festival (14 – 22 July), while the international jury awarded Summer 1993 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carla Simón
film profile
]
by Carla Simón,“a very personal film about personal experiences that proves the power of cinema” with the Golden Duke for Best Film during the closing ceremony held at the Odesa Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

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The international jury, headed up by acclaimed German director Christian Petzold and comprising actress Sibel Kekilli, actress Rimma Zyubina, president of the Transilvania IFF Tudor Giurgiu and film composer Evgeniy Galperin, also handed Georgian-German directorial duo Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß the Golden Duke for Best Director for their film My Happy Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon G…
film profile
]
, while the film’s actresses, Ia Shugliashvili and Tsisia Qumsashvili, won the Best Acting Golden Duke. Furthermore, the jury gave Chinese comedy Free and Easy by Jun Geng a Special Mention.

The jury of the National Competition, comprised of Cannes Critics’ Week Artistic Director Charles Tesson, actor Aidan Turner, playwright Natalia Vorozhbyt and director Zaza Urushadze, awarded Dixie Land [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Roman Bondarchuk with the Golden Duke for Best Ukrainian Film. Nina Antonova received The Best Acting Award for her leading role in Sergey Bukovsky’s The Leading Role [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, while Arkadii Nepytaliuk’s The Strayed [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
received the Special Jury Mention. In the Short Film competition, Graduation ’97 by Pavlo Ostrikov was named Best Ukrainian Short film, and Lilac by Kateryna Gornostail received both the Special Jury Mention and the FIPRESCI Diploma. Black Level [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Valentyn Vasyanovych was awarded the Best Feature Film FIPRESCI Diploma. The Leading Role also won Best European Documentary Film, competing against 16 other entries.

The 8th edition of Odesa International Film Festival also awarded three leading female figures of world film. French actress Isabelle Huppert and Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland both received honorary Golden Dukes Awards for Lifetime Achievement, while legendary Soviet-Russian actress Liya Akhedzhakova was also awarded for her career.  During the ceremony, a special appeal was made for Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov, who is currently being held prisoner in Russia over terror offences.

With regard to this year’s edition, the President of OIFF, Viktoriya Tigipko, remarked, “Our beautiful team doesn’t change over the years.  We are always expanding and we now need more space than the usual locations that the festival takes place in, not only for the audience but also for the guests.Every year we bring 4000 professionals to Odesa, and our mission remains unchanged." The 9th OIFF will be held from 13 to 21 July 2018.

Here is the complete list of winners of the 8th Odesa International Film Festival:

Grand Prix
King of the Belgians [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Woodworth, Peter Br…
film profile
]
Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Netherlands/Belgium/Bulgaria)

Best Film
Summer 1993 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carla Simón
film profile
]
– Carla Simón (Spain)

Best Director
Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß – My Happy Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon G…
film profile
]
(Georgia/Germany/France)

Best Acting
Ia Shugliashvili and Tsisia Qumsashvili – My Happy Family (Georgia/Germany/France)

Special Jury Mention
Free and Easy – Jun Geng (China)

Best Ukrainian Film
Dixie Land [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine/Latvia/Germany)

Best Ukrainian Acting
Nina Antonova –The Leading Role (Ukraine)

Special Jury Mention
The Strayed [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Arkadii Nepytaliuk (Ukraine)

Best Ukrainian Short Film
Graduation ’97– Pavlo Ostrikov (Ukraine)

Special Jury Mention
Lilac – Kateryna Gornostail (Ukraine)

Best European Documentary Film
The Leading Role [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Sergey Bukovsky (Ukraine)

FIPRESCI Best Ukrainian Film
Black Level [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine)

FIPRESCI Best Ukrainian Short Film
Lilac – Kateryna Gornostail (Ukraine)

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