Works by Ukrainian cinematographers will be evaluated by the National competition jury, which includes: Ukrainian director and award winner at the 10^th OIFF Nariman Aliev; Catalan-Spanish director Carla Simón; Giona Nazzaro, General Delegate of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week, programmer of the Rotterdam Film Festival, curator for Visions du Réel de cinéma de Nyon; Marit van den Elshout, head of the industry section at the Rotterdam Film Festival.

Ukrainian director Nariman Aliev participated in the 10^th Odesa International Film Festival with “Homeward'', receiving the Grand Prix. His debut feature film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s “Un Certain Regard” section, where it was met with a standing ovation. Nariman Aliev was nominated for the Crystal Bear at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival with his short film “Sensiz''. Aliev has been a member of the Ukrainian Film Academy since 2017 and a member of the European Film Academy since 2019. He is also a member of the Ukrainian Oscar Committee’s Public Council.  Nariman Aliev was awarded the title Honoured Artist of Ukraine in 2020.

Carla Simón is a Catalan-Spanish screenwriter and director. She received a scholarship from the London Film School in 2011, where she shot the short films “Born Positive”, “Lipstick”, “Las pequeñas cosas”, and “Llacunes”. She shot her feature film debut “Summer 1993” in 2017, an autobiography. The film won in the “Best Debut Film” nomination at the Berlin Film Festival, received three Goya awards, including Best New Director, and the “Best Film” award of the International Competition at the 8^th Odesa International Film Festival. “Summer 1993” collected over 30 awards worldwide and was selected to represent Spain at the Academy Awards. Carla Simón received the Women in Motion Emerging Talent award at Cannes in 2018. She also shot the film “If then else” as part of a commission for an HIV prevention campaign as well as the “Correspondence” short film in collaboration with Dominga Sotomayor.

Giona Nazzaro is the General Delegate of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week, programmer of the Rotterdam International Film Festival, curator for Visions du Réel de cinéma de Nyon since 2010. He has programmed also for the Torino Film Festival, Festival dei Popoli and the Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma. Giona Nazzaro has worked with the Locarno Film Festival since 2009. He also penned books and essays about Hong Kong cinema and postmodern action films. He contributes regularly to the Italian weekly Film Tv, the daily newspaper Il Manifesto and the monthly music magazine Rumore.

Head of the industry section at the Rotterdam Film Festival Marit van den Elshout has served on several selection committees. These include the Rotterdam Media Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund, and the Dutch Cultural Media Fund. She is an EAVE 2009 graduate, has served on several juries for project markets and is a member of the European Film Academy. She was the industry liaison for the Melbourne International Film Festival and has worked as advisor and international liaison on the development of the Durban FilmMart.

The 11^th Odesa International Film Festival will be running online from 25 September to 3 October. Festival passes are available here.