Unspooling this year in a completely different setting to its usual one, the Film Industry Office of the 11^th Odesa International Film Festival (OIFF) was held online from 29 September-2 October, owing to the current restrictions, and the industry event came to a close on Friday. On the last day, the winners of all of the competitive sections, which welcomed 36 projects in total (see the news), were also announced.

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Starting off with the Pitching session for projects in development, Expedition-49, directed by Alisa Kovalenko and produced by Oleksiy Kobelev, Valeriy Kalmykov and Stephane Siohan, was the winning project, receiving the UAH 60,000 (€1,800) prize from the OIFF. Kovalenko said after the announcement: “Your support means a lot to us, especially in these difficult times. Tomorrow, I am going to Donbas, which is burning right now. My characters are in danger. Therefore, your support and this award are especially needed now.” The other prize in the section, also valued at UAH 60,000 and offered by the Ukraina TV channel, was handed to The Editorial Office [+lee también:
crítica
entrevista: Roman Bondarchuk
ficha de la película], directed by Roman Bondarchuk and produced by Darya Bassel and Darya Averchenko.

In the Works in Progress session, the documentary Roma, directed by Olha Zhurba and produced by Darya Bassel, Vika Khomenko, Willem Baptist, Nienke Korthof, Anne Konchke and Monica Hellström, received the prize of UAH 150,000 (€4,500) from the Ukrainian Institute as the project with the greatest international potential. It was deemed to be “an intimate portrayal told in a fascinating, creative way, which follows the dramatic life of an interesting character with great dedication”.

Furthermore, the Ukraina TV channel awarded the project Pryvoz by Eva Neymann, produced by Gennady Kofman and Olga Beskhmelnytsina, with its UAH 60,000 prize, as the jury was impressed by this captivating portrait of a flamboyant place that mirrors life — and which is actually an important part of the authentic characters' lives — shot by an experienced director. Also, Stop-Zemlia [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Kateryna Gornostai
ficha de la película] by first-timer Kateryna Gornostai, which is being produced by Vitaliy Sheremetiev, Vika Khomenko, Natalia Libet and Olga Beskhmelnytsina, received the jury’s Special Mention for being “a creatively shot, quirky and original story of teenagers' lives today”.

In the EastSeries section, the Polish series project Black Friday, written by Michał A Zieliński, was given the Star Media Prize, which provides post-production services worth €20,000.

Finally, in the newly introduced Book Pitch section, which was jointly organised with the Book Arsenal International Festival, the Star Media Prize (which includes script-doctoring services) was handed to the novel Behind the Back, written by Haska Shiyan, who said: “I did not expect to receive such high recognition from the jury. I sincerely hope that this book will turn into a film. In fact, I was very impressed with the strength of my competitors, since I knew about all of their books. It's great that we have so much literature spanning different genres. Let there be more films based on books by contemporary Ukrainian authors.” In addition, the Book Arsenal Prize went to the novel Daughter by Tamara Horikha Zernia.

Here are the awards handed out at the Film Industry Office:

Odesa International Film Festival Award for Best Pitch
Expedition-49 – Alisa Kovalenko (Ukraine/France)
Producers: Oleksiy Kobelev, Valeriy Kalmykov, Stephane Siohan

TV Channel Ukraina Award for Best Pitch
The Editorial Office [+lee también:
crítica
entrevista: Roman Bondarchuk
ficha de la película] – Roman Bondarchuk
Producers: Darya Bassel, Darya Averchenko

Ukrainian Institute Work in Progress Award
Roma – Olha Zhurba (Ukraine/Netherlands/Denmark)
Producers: Darya Bassel, Vika Khomenko, Willem Baptist, Nienke Korthof, Anne Konchke, Monica Hellström

TV Channel Ukraina Award for Best Work In Progress
Pryvoz – Eva Neymann
Producers: Gennady Kofman, Olga Beskhmelnytsina

Jury’s Special Mention for Work in Progress
Stop-Zemlia [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Kateryna Gornostai
ficha de la película] – Kateryna Gornostai
Producers: Vitaliy Sheremetiev, Vika Khomenko, Natalia Libet, Olga Beskhmelnytsina

EastSeries Post-production Service Package
Black Friday (Poland)
Writer: Michał A Zieliński

Book Pitch Star Media Prize
Behind the Back – Haska Shyyan

Book Arsenal Prize
Daughter – Tamara Horikha Zernia