The Winners of the Odesa Film Festival Announced: Best Documentary Film Received a Prize From the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

The winners of the 14th Odesa International Film Festival (OIFF), which took place in Chernivtsi, have been announced. The film From Where To Where by Polish film director Maciek Hamela won in the category Best Full-Length Documentary Film and received a special prize from the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, which is a partner of the festival’s documentary section the Film Industry Office.

“I hoped that when we show this film in Ukraine, there would be no war any more. Unfortunately, the reality is different. I really want this film to be shown in all countries. So that it helps to remind the world that without constant help to Ukraine, this war will not end soon. And people like the heroes of our film will not be able to return home,” Maciek Hamela commented on the film’s victory.

In the first weeks of the full-scale war, he came to Ukraine and was helping as a volunteer. He was the driver of an evacuation vehicle and took almost 400 people to Poland. After hearing the stories of those who were forced to leave their homes, Maciek Hamela decided to film a documentary. The film had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and also won the main award in the international competition at the Sheffield DocFest festival in Great Britain.

On behalf of the Museum of Civilian Voices, Natalya Yemchenko, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, presented the award to Maciek Hamela on the stage of the Odesa International Film Festival. 

“I would like to thank everyone who films and shows this war. Since 2014, our Museum has been collecting testimonies of people who suffered from the war in order to preserve the truth, memory, and a chance for justice. The Museum’s archive now contains more than 80,000 stories: we can be their source, we can be additionally useful to documentarians in particular. Now, we believe, is the era of documentary cinema. The cinema that reflects what is happening, that does not allow hiding or distorting the truth. That is why, any opportunity to help documentarians is invaluable for us,” noted Natalya Yemchenko.

A total of 46 films have been shown in the framework of the OIFF, 32 of which are Ukrainian films. One of the films shown as part of the special section “So we will win!” was produced in cooperation with the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. It is the film called The Dram by film director and producer Yulian Ulybin about the shelter of the Drama Theatre in Mariupol. 

Valeria is Getting Married by Michal Vinik has been named the best Ukrainian feature film, and The Mammals by Sebastian Mihailescu has been recognized as the best European film.

Every war story matters. To keep the memory for a better future, share your story on the portal of the Museum of Civilian Voices https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/ or via the toll-free hotline 0 (800) 509 001.