OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival 2022 hosted by EnergaCAMERIMAGE

Not only millions of Ukrainian peopl,e but festivals too have been displaced as a result of the war that broke out on February 24.

OKO’s third edition was threatened as the region of Bessarabia, being close to the Black Sea, appeared to be one of the main strategic interests of Russia. But despite this, the festival will happen.

EnergaCAMERIMAGE announced that in 2022 OKO will take place in the Polish city of Toruń with the support of the EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival. The festival’s new dates are November 13-18, 2022.

The medieval city of Toruń with its picturesque UNESCO-protected old town (Starówka) seems like a great location for the ethnographic film festival. The place is breathing with history, and it invites everyone to travel back in time. Toruń’s old town has never been destroyed in wars, and this fact brings peace and confidence.

These vibes correspond with 2022 OKO’s concept. This year, the official slogan affirmatively states “Celebrate life!”. No foreign aggression should stop Ukraine from living, and OKO from promoting peace and tolerance by showing great movies.

Speaking of the visual concept, we decided to go back in time and invite our ancestors to join the festival. We want to discover stories that they have to tell, destinies that they encountered, and experiences that they can share with us. They say history teaches humanity nothing, but we strongly believe that discussing the most contradictory topics and preserving memories about our past is essential for preventing inhuman things from taking place in the future.

Due to the circumstances, we have to reduce the program, but we will still have quite a lot to offer to our guests! The films will be competing in the Feature and Short International sections and judged by the international juries, meanwhile all Ukrainian films will be screened in a special non-competitive section.

The selection results will be announced in late September.