Foundation «Initiative for the Future» headed by Igor Yankovskiy, held a grand reception at the 66th Cannes Film Festival

During the opening ceremony the solemn speeches were given by the head of the Agency for Moviemaking Kateryna Kopylova, Director  General  of International Kyiv Festival “Molodist” Andrey Khalpakhchi and Deputy Director General of the Dovzhenko Foundation Ivan Kozlenko.

Welcoming remarks were made by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the All-Ukrainian Charity Foundation "Initiative for the Future" Igor Yankovskiy: "Today we hold a reception to honor young Ukrainian filmmakers presenting their works within the special program at the Cannes Film Festival. I am positive that in a few years  the Palme d'Or ("Golden Palm") will go to some of them. But to make it happen, it’s not enough to shoot a good movie. One should also be able to show his or her work to critics, to participate in international film festivals. Our Foundation  "Initiative for the Future" aims to help young talented Ukrainians, to give them  a shove off and a momentum for their further development."

A grand reception - "Ukrainian party"  was attended by more than 200 professionals, cinema fans, directors of the European festivals, movie producers, critics, journalists, representatives of international distribution companies and arts agencies. That evening, La Croisette was surprisingly bright amid flashing camera lights, multi-colored reflections of decorative candles, movie stars’ elegant dresses and ingenuous smiles of guests invited to the "Ukrainian party" in Cannes.

The audience enjoyed modern tunes played by the young virtuoso Yaroslav Dzhus, who was invited to Cannes by the Foundation of Igor Yankovskiy. What amazed the guests most of all was a musical instrument the musician played - Ukrainian bandura. Yaroslav Dzhus even had to take the microphone and tell the story of Ukrainian bandura. The founder of "Initiative for the Future" Igor Yankovskiy translated this discourse to the English-speaking guests.

It’s no wonder that this evening Ukrainian bandura made a splash on the Cote d'Azur. For many foreign guests it was a revelation – they had never seen such a musical instrument and were truly amazed by its polyphonic sound.

The «Ukrainian party», organized by Foundation "Initiative for the Future" headed by Igor Yankovskiy in honor of the young filmmakers involved in the Short Film Corner of the 66th Cannes Film Festival, was a huge success. It introduced Ukrainian culture, talents, the national moviemaking and musical art to the general public.