The Odesa International Film Festival which takes place from 14th to 222nd July ths year, is one of the most influential film festivals in Eastern Europe. This year's 7th edition is again hosting a number of international stars, among them the German actress Sibel Kekilli and the director Christian Petzold who are part of the international jury for feature films. In addition to a high-quality film program and numerous gala events, the festival offers a four-day film industry forum, the "Odesa Film Office", in which new film projects are presented and topics relevant to the industry are discussed. The aim is to strengthen the network for film producers and promoters from the Ukraine within the European film industry
. Together with the FilmFestival Cottbus, the Odesa International Film Festival is organizing a conference under the title " Film and Independent Film Festivals: A Source of 'Multiplier' Benefits for Social Discourse" which reflects the role of film and film festivals in the implementation of civil society values. Representatives of the Tibilisi International Film Festival (Georgia), the “Cronograf” documentary film festival (Republic of Moldova), the international film festival "Golden Apricot" (Armenia), the Minsk international film festival “Listapad”, the Odesa International Film Festival, as well as the Russian producer Evgeny Gindilis and Samaya Asgarova, who is developing the idea of a film festival in Baku in the frame of the Azerbaijan Film Studio, discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise for filmmakers and film festivals by tackling civil society issues. In the public film program, selected films show how civil society values can be communicated in the film.
The meeting in Odesa serves the inventory of the work of film festivals. A follow-up meeting will take place at the upcoming FilmFestival Cottbus. The meetings also serve to strengthen the networking of film festivals and film festival initiatives in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia. The series of events is supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, Federal Foreign Office.
More informationen about the Odesa International Film Festival: http://oiff.com.ua/en