
WIFTI General Assembly 2022

WIFTI General Assembly 2022
Mark your calendars for the upcoming
WIFT International General Assembly
on August 22, 2022
Times, agenda and Zoom link announced soon.
Mark your calendars for the upcoming
WIFT International General Assembly
on August 22, 2022
Times, agenda and Zoom link announced soon.
To be a filmmaker you need a lot of grit, consistency, and hard work to create and tell great stories in a powerful way that resonates with an audience, using all available resources to bring your idea to life. To be a female filmmaker means to work twice as hard. And to be a female filmmaker in a war-torn country is to make life-changing choices each day. Ukrainian filmmakers nowadays are forced to use their communication, leadership, creative thinking and organizational skills not to lead and develop film projects, but to find a safe place for kids and old parents, to rescue family members trapped in the war zones, to supply army and civilians according to their needs, to help people in need and defend our country in all possible ways. Premiere of my producers debut fiction feature PAMFIR in Directors’ Fortnight this May in Cannes was a surreal experience. As it’s impossible to believe, that the rest of the world continues to live a normal life, when our world changed so dramatically and our lives will never be the same again. As it’s mentioned on your website, the strength of WIFTI is based on the strength coming from every member of every chapter all around the world. I really believe in it, and I’m grateful for this possibility to speak to you, and to ask you to reunite all forces to find the way to support Ukraine.
Since the Russian Federation has been waging war against Ukraine all public financial sources were reallocated to the army support and humanitarian needs. And in the following 3-5 years they will be spent to rebuild hospitals, roads, schools, and to provide care for those who need it. Ukrainian State Film Agency, and other public funding initiatives have dried up and will not have opportunity to ensure the existence of the film industry. The last decade was marked by the rise of a new wave of Ukrainian filmmakers. It was bright, diverse and strongly represented by female talent. Films of Yelizaveta Smith (School #3), Kateryna Gornostai (Stop-Zemlia), Alina Gorlova (This Rain Will Never Stop), Iryna Tsilyk (The Earth Is Blue as an Orange), Maryna Er Gorbach (Klondike), Nadia Parfan (Heat Singers), Marysia Nikitiuk (When The Trees Fall), Marina Stepanska (Falling), and other great Ukrainian authors were premiered and awarded at the festivals all over the world (Berlinale, Sundance, IDFA, Karlovy Vary, Visions Du Reel). And now the future of Ukrainian cinema is uncertain. We need your help to save the modern and diverse community of talented people.
In Cannes I was asked lots of times about the way, how the world can support Ukrainian filmmakers in their work continuing, and here are possible ways to make it happen:
It’s not about help but a partnership that you’ll enjoy to be involved in. We know how to create the projects that the world is interested in, but we can’t make films right now. To move forward we need your support. Making films is a bridge between realities, a fine thread that binds us with normal life and gives us a hope that one day we can be back to our usual activities. We can’t stop as culture is our strongest weapon. If we do not rebuild our culture, we will not rebuild our country, especially in this moment, when our self-identity plays the key role in the struggle against the aggressor.
ALEKSANDRA KOSTINA. PRODUCER
Aleksandra Kostina is a Ukrainian producer. Graduated from The Kyiv National Economic University in 2008 with master’s degree in Economics. Since 2007 works in the film industry. At first as a line producer, producing TV films, documentaries, and TV shows. Since 2013 works as a freelance line and executive producer on the numerous feature films, mostly international co-productions, premiered in Cannes, Venice, Tallinn and other A-class festivals. Participant of the Midpoint, TorinoFilmLab, Less Is More, EWA mentoring programme, MAIA, EAVE marketing workshop. In 2018 she established production company BOSONFILM. Her debut project as a producer, feature fiction film PAMFIR, by Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, is a Ukrainian-French-Polish-Chilean-Luxembourg-German co-production, developed in Cinéfondation Residence, TorinoFilmLab, Midpoint and premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2022. And her upcoming project is VACUUM by award-winning Ukrainian director Yelizaveta Smith, whose previous film “School #3” received The Grand Prix of the Generation 14+ for the Best Film at Berlinale 2017.
A kind invitation to all our WIFT Presidents, Executive Directors and Leaders to join us for the next Presidents Call on
June 15th
10.30am-11.30am Pacific Time
1.30pm-2.30pm Eastern Time
7.30pm-8.30pm Central European Time
June 16th
3.30am-4.30am Australian Eastern Standard Time
5.30am-6.30am New Zealand Standard Time
In these times of severe crises, we are discussing how we can be there for each other as individuals and as networks. We hope to see you there.
Thanks to all who joined us at our various events during Cannes Film Festival 2022, it was fantastic to see you and catch up, share stories and experience, and gather our collective strength!
Thank you to all who attended the IMDbPro Roadshow on 4/28/22! Please find the follow-up materials here with a breakdown of the items discussed in more detail.
As a WITI member, you are eligible to receive a 30% discount off your monthly or annual IMDbPro membership. To redeem this benefit, email Regina via assistant@wifti.net
Watch the meeting recording here.
Watch Salma Hayek Pinault’s acceptance of our IMDb “Icon” STARmeter award here.
Watch a fun sizzle reel celebrating IMDbPro’s 20th anniversary here.
Follow IMDbPro on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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