Ambitious festival

The Berdiansk International Film Festival is called Bryhantyna (The Brigantine). Today the organizers of the festival, founded in 1998, have decided to build a film studio. During a recent news conference in this coastal city the festival organizers discussed their yearly film fest and other projects.

“The festival started with the idea to attract vacationers to this decaying post-Soviet resort town in Zaporizhia oblast. We needed to come up with an original project,” said the director general of the film festival, Oleksandr Makhotin, who ended up shouldering the entire financial burden.

“In June, July, and August 1998 we staged three different festivals: a film festival, a humor festival, and a rock’n’roll bash. No more than 15 people attended the opening ceremony. Many people thought the whole thing was a joke. Later, once Berdiansk started hosting soirees and when people began recognizing pop stars’ faces on the street, the ice was broken. Members of actors’ guilds got involved, particularly Nina Ilyina, Valeria Hushchyna, and Svitlana Sukhovii, and this made our festival more eventful and interesting.”

The organizers promoted the festival by inviting noted filmmakers and screening their latest productions. But eventually it became clear that the festival had to be professionally upgraded. Otherwise it would quietly cease to exist, turning into another get-together of filmmakers.

This year 120 filmmakers from Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Israel, and Bulgaria attended the Berdiansk festival, which has become a genuine creative forum.

Today the festival has the support of the local authorities. Forty-five days before the festival opening, the Berdiansk City Council passed a decision on making the festival an international one. That was cutting it close, but the organizers coped well with the short deadline thanks to support from the Actors’ Guild, the Cultural Foundation of Ukraine, and the dedicated efforts of the project initiators. As a result, the quality of this year’s festival was considerably higher than in previous years.

Film director Borys Savchenko, the head of the jury and chairman of the National Filmmakers’ Union of Ukraine (NSKU) agreed to take part in the project because he wanted to see what it was all about; its structure and inner workings. “Now I can say that I am totally satisfied. The quality of the festival is improving. The films that were submitted to this year’s festival helped make it a success, along with the unbiased jury, worthy awards, and of course, the filmgoers.”

Anatolii Borsiuk, a popular Ukrainian television host, headed the jury for documentary films. This was his first time at the festival.

“I welcome this festival primarily because we truly lack places where filmmakers can rub shoulders with their colleagues, viewers, and critics, especially with people from other countries. We must have connection with the international filmmaking process; otherwise we’ll stay at our current level. It’s not that difficult to organize a film festival, but it’s extremely difficult to make it prestigious, so that people will want to attend every year. The Berdiansk film festival has a big future primarily because of its location. Many people will be eager to visit this scenic area of Ukraine.

“Another important thing is the will and readiness to cooperate on the part of the local administration, sponsors, and civic organizations because often we see the exact opposite.”

Berdiansk’s filmmaking enthusiasts are planning to overcome another obstacle: switching from screening films to making them. A European-style film studio will be built in the next few years, along with a four-star hotel, press center, and modern cinemas. This decision was made by the local administration after assessing the film festival’s potential, prospects, and importance for Berdiansk.

Volodymyr Horiansky, a noted film and stage actor and the founder of the Cultural Foundation of Ukraine, was present at the ceremony to launch the film studio project. “The fact that the idea to create a world-class film studio was conceived in this city is only natural, and not just because of the wonderful environs and the warm climate. As a result of its more than 10 years of work, the Berdiansk film festival has answered a question that has been raised many times in the past decade: Does Ukraine have a film industry?

“Some people might say that more progress could have been achieved during this time. We tend to scold rather than praise ourselves, so we look for minuses instead of pluses in the works submitted to the film festival. We must remember that many people have spent time and money not only for their own benefit but also for the development of the filmmaking industry, thereby contributing to Ukraine’s culture and art. This city and its residents have realized that the festival was what they needed from the outset, so they welcomed and supported the new project. I am sure it has a big future.”