According to the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project, the 79th Cannes Film Festival has concluded in France, with the jury announcing the winners of the main competition program. The top prize—the “Palme d’Or”—went to the film Fjord by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. This is the director’s second victory at Cannes following his triumph in 2007, reports the French publication Le Monde.
“This year has once again shown that cinema remains a way to talk about society, fears, and coexistence even in times of global tension,” Mungiu said during the awards ceremony.
The film “Fjord” marks the director’s English-language debut. The film tells the story of a Romanian family that moves to Norway and finds itself at the center of a conflict after social services intervene due to allegations of child neglect. The film explores the clash between traditional values and the modern European model of society. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve starred in the lead roles.
The festival’s second most prestigious award—the Grand Prix—went to the film “Minotau” by Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev.
The Jury Prize went to the film The Dreamed Adventure by director Valeska Grisebach.
The jury split the award for Best Director between Paweł Pawlikowski for the film Fatherland and the creative duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrosi for the film The Black Ball.
Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto were named Best Actresses of the festival for their roles in the film All of a Sudden. The award for Best Actor was shared by Emmanuel Makia and Valentin Campagne for their work in the film Coward. The prize for Best Screenplay went to Emmanuel Marr for the film A Man of His Time.
This year’s festival took place against a backdrop of discussions about the role of cinema in times of war, political turbulence, and social change—these themes were among the key ones in the competition program.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/culture/1170680.html
According to the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project, a panel discussion titled “The Ukrainian Film Industry: Sustainability, Distribution, and International Opportunities,“ dedicated to the development of the Ukrainian film market during the war, international distribution, and prospects for cooperation with the global film industry, the State Film Agency reports on its Facebook page.
”Despite the war, Ukrainian audiences continue to return to movie theaters and support local cinema. This creates not only cultural resilience but also a real market for Ukrainian cinema,” noted Andriy Nogin.
According to the NGO “UkrKinoFest,” participants in the discussion included Andriy Osipov, head of the State Agency of Ukraine for Cinema; Nataliia Movshovych, Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine; Andriy Nogin, General Producer of UnitedContentHUB and Head of the NGO “UkrKinoFest”; Kateryna Nahorna, International Sales Manager at FILM.UA Group; Valeria Sochivets, Co-founder of “Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema”; and Serhiy Lavrenyuk, General Producer at Solar Media Entertainment. The discussion was moderated by director and producer Ksenia Bugrimova.
During the discussion, participants discussed the state of Ukrainian commercial and auteur cinema, changes in audience preferences amid the war, new international distribution models, and the integration of the Ukrainian film industry into the global market.
In particular, Kateryna Nahorna presented the “Local for Local” international distribution model for Ukrainian-language releases abroad, targeting Ukrainian audiences outside the country. Case studies included “Mavka: The Forest Song,” the franchise “The Christmas Express / December 31st Express,” and the film “Mavka: The True Myth.”
“The Local for Local model demonstrates that Ukrainian cinema today has a global Ukrainian-speaking audience that can exist outside the bounds of traditional distribution,” Nagorna emphasized.
Valeria Sochivets highlighted the importance of supporting Ukrainian auteur cinema and the role of international festivals in maintaining the visibility of Ukrainian stories around the world. She also cited the example of the film “La Palissade” by director Philip Sotnychenko, which was presented at a number of international festivals.
Serhiy Lavrenyuk spoke about his experience collaborating with international studios, notably Lionsgate, and Ukraine’s potential as a creative and production partner for the global market.
“For major international companies, Ukraine today is not only a source of compelling stories but also a creative industry partner with talent, experience, and strong production capabilities,” Lavrenyuk noted.
The panel discussion was part of a series of industry events at the Ukrainian Pavilion in Cannes. The pavilion was organized by the NGO “UkrKinoFest” with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
As reported, the Ukrainian State Film Agency and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival discussed the promotion of Ukrainian cinema at international festivals. Also, Ukraine opened a national pavilion at the 79th Cannes International Film Festival.
In addition, Ukraine and Lithuania signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of cinema during the Cannes Film Festival.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/culture/1169392.html
