The dissertation is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of Ukrainian film festivals as a holistic socio-cultural phenomenon that combines institutional, public, cultural, and public-communicative dimensions.
Section 1, “Theoretical and methodological principles of studying film festivals as cultural institutions”, reveals the state of scientific development of the problem and the source base of the study, and also proves the feasibility of considering film festivals as a form of cultural publicity.
In particular, it is noted that the concept of cultural publicity is a key category for interpreting a film festival as an institutional space of social interaction, communication and meaning-making.
It is emphasized that contemporary approaches Film Festival Studies allow us to interpret the film festival as an active agent in the global field of cultural production. Within this scientific paradigm, the festival appears as an autonomous institution with its own infrastructure, system of actors, institutional logic and mechanisms of symbolic power. The programming structure, selection criteria, mechanisms of legitimation, partnership networks and media strategies are considered as key parameters that determine the professional status of the festival, its cultural weight and influence on the trajectories of films and artists. In this context, the film festival is not a passive channel for demonstrating film production – it performs the function of a moderator of cultural processes that forms hierarchies, outlines aesthetic trends and determines the horizons of collective perception.
Section 2, “Institutional Logic and Public Practices of Ukrainian Film Festivals”, examines organizational formats, sources of sustainability, curatorial strategies, and selection policies at Ukrainian film festivals, as well as the challenges transforming their activities and mechanisms of their crisis adaptability.
It is emphasized that the modern festival movement in Ukraine functions as an extensive system of cultural institutions with different models of organization and financing, and its organizational architecture is characterized by a high level of diversification and hybridization. The concept of “institutional diversification” explains that the sustainability of festivals is ensured by a combination of five dominant organizational formats (from institutional support to niche ones ), which were formed as a response to the need to diversify sources of financing (state funds, grants, private investments, volunteer resources). The format of institutional support (“Molodist”, “Crystal Sources”) provides stability and international legitimacy, but demonstrates inertia and dependence on state resources. The most adaptive is the hybrid format, represented by the Odesa IFF, which, thanks to diversified sources of financing and the development of industrial platforms (Film Industry Office) functions as a center for film business and co-production. Public-initiative events such as Docudays UA demonstrate the effectiveness of the grant model, combining the festival with the online cinema DOCUSPACE and network practices such as the Traveling Festival. Niche and thematic festivals (KISFF, SUNNY BUNNY, “Hakkebusch”) form specialized audiences and expand the cultural field, and regional and cross-border events (“OKO”, CMIFF) ensure the decentralization of the festival movement. Such multi-vector nature provides festivals with the necessary flexibility, independence and speed of adaptation to social challenges.
In Section 3, “Towards a Foreign Festival as a Platform for Cultural Representation and Social Thematization”, the film festival is examined as a socio-cultural event and a platform for the representation of Ukrainian cinema, as well as the thematic typology of Ukrainian cinema presented at festivals.
The conclusions are based on a comprehensive analysis of Ukrainian film festivals not as discrete events, but as multidimensional socio-cultural institutions of cultural publicity. The conclusions confirm all the provisions put forward as scientific novelty, and consistently reveal the originality and systematicity of the study of the functional, organizational, and historical aspects of festivals.
Keywords: film festivals; cultural publicity; institutional diversification; curatorial strategies; cultural legitimation; crisis adaptability; social thematization; national identity; cultural diplomacy; decolonization.
