THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 53RD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL "MOLODIST" TOOK PLACE IN KYIV
Guests and participants gathered in the Red Hall of the Cinema House “Budynok Kino” for the opening of the "Molodist" festival. This year, the festival's program features 123 films from 44 countries, included in 11 sections. In addition, the festival will hold several industry events. The opening film was Two Sisters, directed by Łukasz Karwowski — one among first feature films shot in Ukraine since the beginning of russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The evening began with a minute of silence in memory of all the fallen soldiers and civilians who became victims of Russian aggression.
The hosts of the ceremony, who also anchor the "Snidanok with 1+1" show, Yehor Hordieiev and Liudmyla Barbіr, invited Yulia Shevchuk, the acting head of the State Film Agency of Ukraine, to the stage. She presented the presidential award and the "Scythian Deer" from the Molodist Film Festival to Andrii Rizol, a film producer and chairman of the Association of Ukraine Cinema Development & Support - Watch Ukrainian!, for his contributions to the development of Ukrainian cinema.
Later, the General Director of the Molodist Film Festival, Andrii Khalpakhchi, took the stage to deliver his welcome address. During his speech, Mr. Khalpakhchi presented the prestigious "Scythian Deer" award, recognizing outstanding contributions to world cinema, to this year's head of the international jury, Mohammad Rasoulof.
Upon receiving the award, Mohammad Rasoulof expressed his heartfelt support for the Ukrainian people and gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the festival:
The opening ceremony concluded with remarks from the creative team behind the opening film Two Sisters. The creators of the film were present at the premiere: director Łukasz Karwowski, one oof the lead actresses Karolina Żepa, CEO of FILM. UA Group Viktoria Yarmoshchuk, actresses Maryna Koshkina, Vitalina Biblev, Slava Babenkov and others.
FILM.UA Group became the co-producer of the film the Ukrainian side. The distributor is FILM.UA Distribution.
During the festival, visitors and guests will also have the opportunity to view an exhibition of Crimean Tatar national costumes and jewelry curated by Rustem Skibin, as well as a display of paintings by Dmytro Dotsenko, located on the third floor of the "House of Cinema."
This year, the festival's competition program consists of four categories:
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Teen Screen — a program for children and teenagers aged 10 to 14. The jury for this category includes: Valeria Horbenko, Zlata Kostiuk, Kyrylo Pashchenko, Kira Truba, and Polina Devyatko.
During the festival, screenings of films in this category are free of charge. -
National Short Film Competition — a selection of Ukrainian live-action, animated, and documentary short films. This year’s jury: Alevtyna Kakhidze, Nikon Romanchenko, and Stéphane Siohan.
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Documentary Competition — a program of international debut feature-length documentaries. Jury members: Jon Bang Carlsen, Tetyana Filevska, and Viktor Nordenskiöld.
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International Competition — a selection of both live-action and documentary feature-length and short films. This year’s jury: Albert Wiederspiel, Anastasia Karpenko, Maksym Asadchyi, Maria Kavtaradze, and jury president Mohammad Rasoulof.
The non-competition program of the festival includes the following categories:
- Opening Film — Two Sisters directed by Łukasz Karwowski.
- FORMA — a vibrant collection of experimental films.
- Festival of Festivals — films that participated in and won prizes at major festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, and others.
- Ukrainian Premieres — the latest Ukrainian films made over the past year: experimental, independent, and bold.
- Scandinavian Panorama — films by directors from Scandinavian countries.
- Midnight Screenings — a late-night program of unconventional genre films.
- Retrospective Program "Century" — a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the birth of outstanding masters of world cinema.
- Special Events — a series of independent film events that lie outside the conceptual boundaries of traditional festival programs.
- Closing Film — Under the Volcano directed by Damián Kocur.
The festival is held with the support of the State Film Agency of Ukraine and the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine. The Grand Prix of the festival, a $5,000 prize, is sponsored by Loto-Zabava, a national lottery operator.
The festival's main media partner is 1+1 Media.
The symbol of the festival, the "Scythian Deer," is provided by the Kimberly Jewelry House.
The festival’s creative partner is McCann.
International Partners:
Embassy of Italy in Ukraine
Italian Institute of Culture in Ukraine
Embassy of France in Ukraine
French Institute
Polish Institute in Kyiv
Embassy of Norway in Ukraine
Embassy of Argentina in Ukraine
Embassy of Belgium in Ukraine with the support of the Delegation of Flanders in Poland and the Baltic States
The festival is financially supported by:
Goethe-Institut Ukraine
International Institute of Depth Psychology
Kyivstar TV Cinema and Television Platform
Ukrainian-Danish Youth House
Yuliia Hnatchenko Charitable Foundation
ILTA on Pechersk Automobile Center
Jewelry company “Ukrzoloto”
Full-cycle post-production studio Wizard
Water partner “Krayina”
Creative company “Silk Route”
Hospitality Partners:
Sky Loft Hotel
Italian restaurant “Casa Nori”
Restaurant of Ukrainian cuisine “Hlek”
Podil café-bakery “Tisto.Kyiv”
House of Cinema
Zhovten Cinema
Media Partners:
1+1 Ukraine TV Channel
Suspilne Broadcasting
Suspilne Culture
DTF Magazine
Detector Media
Hromadske
Livyi Bereh
Ukrainskyi Tyzhden
LiRoom – cultural info partner of Ukraine
Kinoman Division
Vechirniy Kyiv
Prokino
Svidomi
Proshokino
Marie Claire
Shlyager FM Radio
Business Radio
DJ FM Radio
Power FM Radio