The winners of the second SUNNY BUNNY Queer Film Festival were announced in Kyiv

On April 26, Zhovten Cinema hosted the award ceremony for the second SUNNY BUNNY-2024 Queer Film Festival.

‍

The winner of the International Full-Length Competition is “All the Silence” by Diego del Río (Mexico, 2023).

“The complex queer characters. Heartbreaking emotional punches. Masterful use of the sound design. A hopeful commentary on the changing nature of art. All of this and more made us fall for this winner,” – stated the jury.

‍

The Special Mention of the International Full-Length Competition went to "Egghead & Twinkie" by Sarah Kambe Holland (USA, 2023).

“Suddenly we wanted to be young again and grow up watching this film. It would have made our life easier. Quirky wit, smart representation, and a roadmap to navigate the overpowering world of social media deserve a Special Mention,” — shared the jury.

‍

The winner of the International Short Film competition is “Dildotectonics” by Tomás Paula Marques (Portugal, 2023).

“This visually stunning hybrid short celebrates the beauty of film and queer sexuality. It’s a win-win situation, so this is our winner,” — the jury members said about the best film of the International Short Film Competition.

‍

The Special Mention in the International Short Film Competition was awarded to “Bolero” by Nans Laborde-Jourdàa (France, 2023).

‍“Hypnotized by the power of this short, we grew closer and spent a heartwarming night in Kyiv. Our Special Mention goes to a dance that reminds us of the power of art,” – commented the jury.

‍

The International Full-Length and International Short Film Competitions were evaluated by the main jury of the festival:

‍

Oksana Cherkashyna — theater and film actress, director, performer (Ukraine)
Pavel Bicek — director of the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival, founder of the Queer Kino distribution label (Czech Republic)
Romas Zabarauskas — film director, screenwriter, author, and producer (Lithuania).

‍

The Audience Award was given to the International Full-Length Competition film "Along Came Love" by Katell Quillévéré (France, Belgium, 2023).

‍

For the first time, the members of the Ukrainian Union of Film Critics (UFC) participated as the jury at the SUNNY BUNNY festival. Those included Oksana Voloshenyuk, Head of the Union's board and film historian, along with film critic and festival selector Oleksandr Husiev, and film critic and producer Valeriy Mirnyi. The jury of the Ukrainian Union of Film Critics awarded the diploma for the best film of the International Full-Length Competition to "Crossing" by Levan Akin. Additionally, "All the Silence" by Diego del Rio was awarded a Special Mention. The jury of Ukrainian film critics also evaluated the Ukrainian short program of queer films, and "Crimea" by Kateryna Khramtsova received a diploma in this category.

‍

Furthermore, the festival announced the winner of the first-ever Ukrainian pitching for short films addressing LGBTQIA+ topics, who will receive 80 thousand hryvnias from the festival sponsor Jägermeister. This year the winner is "Serpanok," directed by Yura Katynsky and produced by Kateryna Gradnova-Savytska and Oleksandr Chubko.

‍

The pitching jury also granted Special Mention to two film projects:

“The Story,” director Vadym Mochalov, producers Vadym Mochalov and Diana Nazaruk, feature;
“Bossom,” director Alyona Shylova, producers Valerya Sochyvets, Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema (CUC), feature.

‍

Pitching jury:

‍

Zhanna Ozirna — Ukrainian director and screenwriter.

Berlinale Talents 2020 participant, Cité Internationale des Arts та Les Récollets (2022) and Marathon Screening (2023) resident. Currently, Zhanna works on two full feature films Ground Zero and Honeymoon.

Darya Bassel — Ukrainian film producer of independent documentary and feature films, the Curator of industry platform, and Head of the Program at Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.

Alex Perera — Jägermeister Brand Manager, co-founder, and resident of LGBTQIA+ events Stezhka.

‍

This year, the second SUNNY BUNNY LGBTQIA+ Film Festival program includes 60 films from 35 countries, presented in 8 programs. Additionally, special screenings and educational events took place throughout the festival.

The honorary guests of the ceremony included the members of the "LGBTQIA+ Military" organization: Pavlo Lahoyda, Andrii-Lelia Chelyakha, Vladyslav Aprelov, and Oleh Zhabinets.

“I am very pleased that today I am among such people, and that I can represent the LGBTQIA+ Military community. Because it is very important to talk about us. We exist, and we are also fighting for our rights and yours,”— Pavlo Lahoyda addressed the audience from the stage.

‍

The closing film of SUNNY BUNNY-2024 was "Drive-Away Dolls," directed by Ethan Coen.

‍

At the event, the festival also welcomed its ambassador Volodymyr Zavadiuk, Head of Production at Big Brave Events 1+1 Media;ctor and the Funder of the OMELIA brand, and an influencer.

‍

The closing ceremony was hosted by film critic and blogger Inna Gordeeva (@chechevitsaaaa).

‍

SUNNY BYNNY also welcomed its honorary guests: director and producer Maksym Nakonechnyi, “Restless” Monroe, director Tonya Noyabrskaya, director Anna Buryachkova, actress Myroslava Filipovych, and others.

‍

The festival was financially supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the International Renaissance Foundation, the European Union, the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Ukraine, Jägermeister, the Ukrainian IT company Appflame, Outright International, and the Ukrainian-Danish Youth House.

‍

The festival was supported by the Embassy of the Italian Republic in Ukraine, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, the Embassy of Argentina, the Italian Cultural Institute in Ukraine, the French Institute in Kyiv, and the Czech Center in Kyiv.

‍

Festival partners

Omelia Atelier

Tech company “Hexagon”

Public organization “Fulcrum UA”

The platform of public association “Rizni.Rivni”

Official distributor Ilta Pechersk

Ukrainian socks brand “Noskar”

Non-Governmental Organization “Women Association Sphere (Kharkiv, Ukraine)”

Youth movement “Teenergizer”

Public organization “Insight”

Marsh Zhinok