Czech Oscar contender and French film about the Holocaust in Chernivtsi: Mykolaychuk OPEN Film Festival announces international competition

For the third time, the Mykolaychuk OPEN Audience Film Festival will hold an international feature-length competition. This year, it includes 8 films united by the festival theme — “A Man at the Center of History.” Among the films that will compete for the main prize are hits from Berlinale, Rotterdam, Locarno, Sundance and an Oscar contender from the Czech Republic. The winner will be determined by audience voting, and the laureate film itself will receive $1,500 and a statuette — Zalizny Mykolaychuk.

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The International Feature-length Competition includes:

— “Hot Milk” / Hot Milk (Great Britain, Greece, Australia), dir. Rebecca Lenkiewicz — the directorial debut of the screenwriter and playwright (“Ada”) with the star of the TV series “Sex Education” Emma Mackie in the role of an eternal student. The film tells the story of a daughter who devotes herself to caring for her wheelchair-bound mother. The film also stars Fiona Shaw (“Andor”) and Vicky Krieps (“Corset”), and had its world premiere in the main competition at the Berlinale.

— Girls on Wire (China), dir. Vivian Qu — another premiere from this year’s Berlinale competition, tells the story of two half-sisters who haven’t spoken to each other for years. They are brought together again by a deadly threat that threatens one of them of girls.

— Mariana's Room (France, Israel, Hungary, Belgium), dir. Emmanuel Finkel — the events of the film unfold in Chernivtsi during World War II. The plot centers on a Jewish boy, Hugo, who is hiding in a brothel, and the women who shelter him. The main role was played by French film star Melanie Thierry (Theorem Zero), who learned Ukrainian for the role. Ukrainian actress Olena Khokhlatkina (Pamfir) also played a major role in the film.

— Bury Us in a Lone Desert (Vietnam), dir. Nguyen Le Hoang Phuc — a film from the Rotterdam International Film Festival combines an unusual form (circular framing) and an even more unusual story about a robber and a man who cannot let go of his wife’s death, so he lives with her doll.

— Waves (Czech Republic, Slovakia), dir. Jiri Madl — the second highest-grossing Czech film of all time and a Czech candidate for the Oscar. The historical drama with elements of a thriller tells the story of the work of a radio station that was a real nightmare for the communist government of Czechoslovakia and the events of the Prague Spring, when Soviet troops invaded the country. The screening will be held with the support of the Czech Center in Kyiv.

— Good Sister (Germany, Spain), dir. Sara Miro Fischer is a film from the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival about Rose and her older brother Sam, with whom they have a very close relationship. When Sam is accused of rape, Rose is asked to testify against him as part of the investigation. A drama of moral unrest that speaks boldly about the culture of cancellation and violence.

— Red Path (Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Qatar), dir. Lotfi Ashour — a tense drama from the Locarno Film Festival follows a young shepherd, Achraf, and his ability to overcome the traumatic experience of the violent death of his cousin.

— Luz (China, Hong Kong), dir. Flora Lau, a new work starring Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert (“Her”), shows how two different worlds collide in one VR game: a daughter who worries about her sick mother and a father who is trying to connect with his daughter.

“Every year we review hundreds of films to select the best, in our opinion, for participation in the international competition. This year, these are films from Europe and Asia, directed by women (four films) and men (also four films). All the films have one thing in common. They resonate with our theme — “The Man at the Center of History” — and their heroes and heroines either confront historical events that seem insurmountable, or themselves shape the plot they want to live by. There are no Ukrainian films in the competition, but we found absolutely

an unexpected French story about Chernivtsi, where Ukrainian is spoken almost 100% of the time — even the French star speaks it,” comments the festival’s program director Alex Malyshenko.

Earlier, the Mykolaychuk OPEN festival announced the first international and Ukrainian films from the program of the fourth edition. The Gala Premieres section will show Ari Aster’s new film “Eddington,” the musical with Tilda Swinton “The End,” the anime “Colors Inside,” and actress Eva Viktor’s directorial debut “Sorry, Girl.” The program also includes Ukrainian documentaries, including Sarah Jessica Parker’s production project with Alexander Teren “The Front Row.” As part of the national short film competition, 23 Ukrainian films will be shown, and on Ivan Mykolaychuk's birthday, viewers will be able to watch the scanned and previously unavailable film "And in Sounds Memory Will Respond..." about Mykola Lysenko with Olga Sumska as his lover.

The screening schedule will be available soon. Audience tickets are already on sale.

Festyvalʹ hlyadatsʹkoho kino «Mykolaychuk OPEN» vidbudetʹsya z 14 do 21 chervnya u misti Chernivtsi za pidtrymky Chernivetsʹkoyi misʹkoyi rady ta Kulʹturno-mystetsʹkoho tsentru im. Ivana Mykolaychuka.

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The Mykolaychuk OPEN Audience Film Festival will be held from June 14 to 21 in the city of Chernivtsi with the support of the Chernivtsi City Council and the Ivan Mykolaychuk Cultural and Art Center.