For the 8th consecutive year, a selection of 25 French short films was programmed in five provincial cities as part of the French Spring Festival in Ukraine.
The 2011 French Spring Festival in Ukraine presented its short film selection in the cities of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odessa, Lviv, and finally Kiev, to an audience of 450 short film enthusiasts who would not have missed this opportunity to discover French cinema’s latest offerings.
Un homme debout, which was selected at the 2011 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, was presented at this event. Its director Foued Mansour and lead actor Samuel Jouy were present to meet with audiences and jointly led a master class for journalists and students keen to gain an understanding of the French film production system, funding schemes, and distribution possibilities.
At a round-table debate held at the Ukraine State Film Agency, participants joined Unifrance’s Christine Gendre to discuss the necessity for producers to join forces to promote the production of Ukrainian short films and to ensure that directors are supported and recognized. An association was recently founded (without state recognition), and the current mobilization of the various members of this sector should make it easier for up-and-coming filmmakers to express themselves and export their work.
We applaud the official selection at Cannes this year of the short film Cross by Maryna Vroda, which was co-produced by France (Les 3 Lignes) and Ukraine.
