Ukrainian director Zhanna Ozirna won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival
Ukrainian director Zhanna Ozirna received the prestigious Build Your Dream Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her debut feature film *Honeymoon*, which chronicles the early days of the full-scale invasion.
This was reported on the Facebook page of the film’s producer, Dmytro Sukhanov.
The organizers included the Ukrainian film in the prestigious shortlist of the 15 best foreign debuts of the year released in French theaters. This was reported by Glavkom. The special award to support young artists was established by Mediawan in collaboration with BYD, and winning the competition allows emerging directors to overcome one of the most difficult stages in their careers and receive guaranteed funding to create their second feature film.
The film’s plot revolves around a young couple who find themselves trapped in their own new apartment near Kyiv on February 24, 2022, due to the sudden arrival of Russian occupiers outside their building. The main characters are forced to survive for five days in a confined space without electricity, water, or communication, which becomes a serious test for their relationship. According to the director, this film is an attempt to explore the behavior of people in creative professions during crisis situations and to portray the experiences of the current generation on screen.
Along with the honorary award, Zhanna Ozirna received a cash prize of $46,000, which she plans to use to fund her upcoming film projects. Currently, the filmmaker is already actively working on two new films: a historical drama titled “Lower Horizon” and a film called “Intimacy,” which will explore how wounded veterans adapt to life after the front lines. The world premiere of “Honeymoon” took place in 2024 at the Venice Film Festival, after which the film won the Grand Prix at the Kyiv “Molodist” Film Festival, as well as top prizes at film festivals in Arras and Sofia in 2025, against the backdrop of ongoing aggression by the Russian Federation.
Mstislav Chernov has won prestigious awards from the Writers Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers
As a reminder, the film “2000 Meters to Andriivka” made the BAFTA longlist.
The film “2000 Meters to Andriivka” was named one of the top 50 best films of the year by The Guardian.
