FilmFestival concept 2022

Status

of the III International Ethnographic Film Festival “OКO”-2022

(November 13-18), Toruń, Poland

“OKO” – Ethno Film Festival

About the Festival

“OKO” is a union of cinematographers and folklorists. It is a holiday of ethnographic and anthropological documentary and fiction films. It is a place where you can see and feel the heartbeat of small and large peoples, communities, villages’ and cities’ inhabitants. “OKO” is an embodiment of the cultural diversity of Ukraine and the world, a platform for intercultural dialogue. At the same time, it is the platform where filmmakers and folklorists, ethnographers, and anthropologists can meet and find out more about each other, share their ideas and, possibly, arrange some future mutual projects. The festival is divided into competitive and non-competitive programs and accepts applications for international and national, documentary and fiction, short and full-length sections.

The objectives of the Festival

To archive and make public the customs and traditions, folk arts and crafts, life and morals of the peoples of Ukraine and other cultures and civilizations from all over the world.
To contribute to the development of intercultural and interethnic dialogue to reduce the acts of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination, by showing films about the cultural diversity of different peoples and ethnic groups.
To generate interest in ethnographic and anthropological material, folk arts, and crafts among young filmmakers, as well as to encourage their creativity and enthusiasm for working in this field.
To create the conditions for professional communication of cinematographers and folklorists, encourage the creation of mutual film projects, and promote the dialogue of different cultures.
To popularize Ukraine and Ukrainian Bessarabia inside and outside the country.
“OKO” is an annual and international festival held in Bolhrad town, Odesa region, Bessarabia. However, we are forced to hold the third edition abroad, because of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, to provide safety for the participants and guests of the festival.
The festival will be held in a combined format, as it was in 2021. The online version of the “OKO” will be broadcast on the website okofilmfest.com.ua: after registration, you will be able to watch most of the films of the international competition program and the Ukrainian special one. The offline part of the festival will take place in the Polish city of Toruń with the support of the Energa CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival. Here, you will have the opportunity to watch exciting films that are not available for viewing online. We also prepare exhibitions, meetings with directors, panel discussions, and concerts for the guests and participants, so you will feel complete immersion in the atmosphere of the ethnographic film festival itself.
The Film Festival is focused on uniting the creative efforts of both aspiring and mature filmmakers, amateurs, and experienced folklorists.

Dates

November 13 – 18, 2022

Terms and Conditions

Short and full-length films, international and national documentaries with ethnographic and anthropological content are accepted for the competition program and must correspond to the main theme of the festival. Feature films are also invited to participate in the out-of-competition part.
Registration of the contest participants is carried out through the online link. You can find it on the website page of “OKO” and the Facebook profile of the festival. The other way to submit is by using the specialized Film Freeway media. Each competition work should be accompanied by a completed application, which is a document required to include works in the list of the contestants.
Applications and movies are accepted online. The Contest Application should contain a link to the work that has been submitted to be viewed through online screenshots (closed links for downloading or online viewing on Vimeo, YouTube, etc.) Acceptance of the works by both international and Ukrainian cinematographers will last from December 1, 2021, until July 1, 2022.
Submission for participation in the competition program for all the authors from Ukraine is free.
The requirements for the Contest works are Codec (preferably) – H.264, container – MP4, MPEG. Video resolution is preferred to be 1920 × 1080 (Full HD, 1080p), but not less than 720 × 576. Sound frequency shall be from 24 kHz and above. If there is no copy of the film online, please, send a copy on the memory card by post.
There are no restrictions on the date of production.
Each work must have titles: you must specify the last names and first names of all project participants (including those who were involved), as well as the date of publication.
Subtitle languages: Ukrainian, English.
Any interested person (individual authors and groups of authors) who submitted all the materials according to the terms of the Contest shall be entitled to take part in the Contest.
Each participant must indicate whether he or she allows their film to be temporarily added to the online program on the film festival website to reach Ukrainians who cannot come to Toruń because of the war.
The Festival is entitled to use short fragments of selected films, not longer than 3 minutes, for Festival-advertising purposes.
After the main festival in Toruń, “OKO” will travel to the regions of Ukraine and other countries with screenings of the winning films and the favorite ones.
Every participant with the submission gives his consent to screening his film during the “OKO” Traveling Festival, which will take place straight after the main festival.
Submission of the application means that you agree with the proposed rules and acknowledge the right of the Festival to use the submitted materials for non-commercial purposes.

First run

To participate in the Festival, the film's screening does not need to be the first run, but it shouldn’t be publicly available on the Internet.

Procedure of determining and awarding the winners of the Contest

To determine the winners of the Contest, the organizing Committee of the Film Festival has created a Contest Commission (the jury of the Contest). It consists of the organizers of the Film Festival, experts in the field of folklore, representatives of the public organizations, the media, and the film industry.
This year, the competition will be only among films in the international program in two categories: short and full meter.
Each film category will be evaluated by two groups of the jury, each - consisting of 3 members.
Ukrainian films will be part of a special program.
The Contest Commission will evaluate each work according to the following criteria: the director's vision, the camera work, the creativity of the idea, and the value of folklore material.
All the participants of the contest and out-of-contest programs will receive diplomas and gifts to commemorate their participation in the Film Festival.

Awards

The winners in the short and full meter categories of the international program will be awarded special prizes and monetary rewards in the amount of 20,000 and 40,000 hryvnias, respectively.
The award is also provided for Ukrainian films.
The best authors' works will receive organizational and informational support and can be implemented on the MEGOGO video service.
The winners of the Film Festival will get the awards at the closing ceremony.

Organizers, Management, Partners and Jury

The organizers

NGO “OKO” – Association of creative personalities.
Energa CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival.

The management

Tetiana Staneva (founder, director and the main producer).
Elena Rubashevska (program director of the “OKO” festival).
Svitlana Rudiuk (executive producer).
Yan Lelyuk (technical director).
Alexandr Baron (director of internal communications).
Dona Todorova (administrator).
Dana Mitanova (editor).
Liliya Topor (designer).

Honorary President of the festival – Yuri Dimchoglo.

The partners

Main:

MEGOGO video service.
Ferry complex “Orlivka-Isaccea”.

Additional:

UA: Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine.
State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience.
Digital agency Netpeak.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Aid for Development Program.
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Izmail State University of Humanities.
Odesa Film Studio.
Folk Studio “Pravytsya”.
Inform agency “Yug.Today”.
Cinema portal.
Production of audiovisual content “Power Film Production”.
A number of foreign ethnographic twinning film festivals.

The objectives of the Festival

To archive and make public the customs and traditions, folk arts and crafts, life and morals of the peoples of Ukraine and other cultures and civilizations from all over the world.

To contribute to the development of intercultural and interethnic dialogue to reduce the acts of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination, by showing films about the cultural diversity of different peoples and ethnic groups.

To generate interest in ethnographic and anthropological material, folk arts, and crafts among young filmmakers, as well as to encourage their creativity and enthusiasm for working in this field.

To create the conditions for professional communication of cinematographers and folklorists, encourage the creation of mutual film projects, and promote the dialogue of different cultures.

To popularize Ukraine and Ukrainian Bessarabia inside and outside the country.

“OKO” is an annual and international festival held in Bolhrad town, Odesa region, Bessarabia. However, we are forced to hold the third edition abroad, because of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, to provide safety for the participants and guests of the festival.

The Film Festival is focused on uniting the creative efforts of both aspiring and mature filmmakers, amateurs, and experienced folklorists.

Dates November 13 – 18, 2022

Terms and Conditions

Short and full-length films, international and national documentaries with ethnographic and anthropological content are accepted for the competition program and must correspond to the main theme of the festival. Feature films are also invited to participate in the out-of-competition part.

Submission for participation in the competition program for all the authors from Ukraine is free.

There are no restrictions on the date of production.

Each work must have titles: you must specify the last names and first names of all project participants (including those who were involved), as well as the date of publication.

Subtitle languages: Ukrainian, English.

Any interested person (individual authors and groups of authors) who submitted all the materials according to the terms of the Contest shall be entitled to take part in the Contest.

Each participant must indicate whether he or she allows their film to be temporarily added to the online program on the film festival website to reach Ukrainians who cannot come to Toruń because of the war.

The Festival is entitled to use short fragments of selected films, not longer than 3 minutes, for Festival-advertising purposes.

After the main festival in Toruń, “OKO” will travel to the regions of Ukraine and other countries with screenings of the winning films and the favorite ones.

Every participant with the submission gives his consent to screening his film during the “OKO” Traveling Festival, which will take place straight after the main festival.

Submission of the application means that you agree with the proposed rules and acknowledge the right of the Festival to use the submitted materials for non-commercial purposes.

First run To participate in the Festival, the film's screening does not need to be the first run, but it shouldn’t be publicly available on the Internet.

Procedure of determining and awarding the winners of the Contest

This year, the competition will be only among films in the international program in two categories: short and full meter.

Each film category will be evaluated by two groups of the jury, each - consisting of 3 members.

Ukrainian films will be part of a special program.

The Contest Commission will evaluate each work according to the following criteria: the director's vision, the camera work, the creativity of the idea, and the value of folklore material.

All the participants of the contest and out-of-contest programs will receive diplomas and gifts to commemorate their participation in the Film Festival.

Awards

The winners in the short and full meter categories of the international program will be awarded special prizes and monetary rewards in the amount of 20,000 and 40,000 hryvnias, respectively.

The award is also provided for Ukrainian films.

The best authors' works will receive organizational and informational support and can be implemented on the MEGOGO video service.

The winners of the Film Festival will get the awards at the closing ceremony.

The organizers

NGO “OKO” – Association of creative personalities.

Energa CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival.

The management

​

Honorary President of the festival – Yuri Dimchoglo.

The partners

​

Main:

​​

Dates

November 13 – 18, 2022

First run

To participate in the Festival, the film's screening does not need to be the first run, but it shouldn’t be publicly available on the Internet.