Ukrainian Filmmakers Vow To Keep Country’s Cinema Alive As Odesa International Film Festival Stages Works In Progress Event In Karlovy Vary

deadline.com:

The spectre of the war in Ukraine loomed large at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Tuesday as it hosted the annual Work in Progress showcase of the Ukrainian Odesa International Film Festival (OIFF).In its 13th edition, the showcase normally takes place within the framework of the OIFF, which was due to unfold in its Black Sea resort home from July 23-30 but was cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.“It’s a strange feeling as we were preparing to run our festival in Odesa as normal until February 24, and now we have to travel around other festivals to present our projects but it’s a way of carrying on,” festival director Anna Machuh told Deadline.“I hope that by next year, these films will be completed, and we’ll be watching them in cinemas in Ukraine and in Odesa at the festival,” added Muchuh, who is also the head of the Ukrainian Film Academy.Such a move is off the table for now while the threat of Russian missile attacks persists.

Last Saturday (July 2), a Russian missile hit an apartment block and recreation centre just outside the port city, killing 21 people including a child.“I am not ready to conduct any event in Ukraine right now,” said Machuh.The showcase presented eight feature films, most of which had just finished shooting, or were on the cusp of wrapping, as Russian tanks started rolling into the country in February.“It’s like being a national football team playing together in exile, but at the same time it’s a huge mark of solidarity from Karlovy Vary and we’re happy to be here,” said producer Denis Ivanov of the showcase. “We have interesting and diverse selection, covering all the genres, drama, melodrama, dark comedy, sci-fi and documentary, which we