05.10 | 14:00 (UA), Budynok Kino (Light Blue Hall)

An honest discussion about what drives directors, producers, and festival programmers crazy: “Why didn’t you select my film?”, “Can you wait three more weeks—I’m making it just for your festival,” DMs with requests and demands, silence in response, or, on the contrary, frame-by-frame nitpicking. We'll talk about the pains of producing and directing — from the inability to get approval to responsibility for budgets, texts, and character limits, as well as the boundaries and ethics of communication with the preselection team: do's and don'ts to help maintain respect, deadlines, and your nervous systems.

Anastasiya Verlinska — Director of the LINOLEUM Festival.

Sasha Ruban — Co-director of Mavka. The Forest Song and creator of the legendary Patron the Dog.

Valeriia Sochyvets — Director, producer, mentor, co-founder of CUC; member of the European and Ukrainian Film Academies; Berlinale and Sarajevo Talents 2023 alumna.