Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko became a member of the Berlinale main jury

Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko was elected to the main jury of the Berlin International Film Festival "Berlinale".

This is stated on the website of the film festival.

Oksana Zabuzhko has published more than 20 books, including poetry, prose and journalism. She studied philosophy at the University of Kyiv and received a doctorate from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, and then taught as a visiting professor at the universities of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Harvard in the USA. Her works have been translated into many languages.

This is the second time that a representative of Ukraine will enter the main jury. The first was writer Andriy Kurkov in 2005.

This year, the main jury will also include:

• Kenyan-Mexican actress, director, producer and New York Times bestselling author Lupita Nyongʼo;
• American director and actor Brady Corbett;
• Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui;
• director of modern German cinema, Christian Petzold;
• Spanish director Albert Serra;
• Italian actress and director Jasmine Trinca.

The jury presents awards such as the Golden Bear for the best film (awarded to the producers of the film), the Silver Bear for the best direction, leading role, supporting role, screenplay, outstanding artistic contribution and others.

The festival will take place from February 15 to 25 in Berlin. Every year, about 200 films of all genres, lengths and formats are shown in different sections and at special presentations of the Berlinale.

• The Berlin International Film Festival is one of the largest public film festivals in the world, held annually since 1951. "Berlinale" gathers stars of international cinema, and also discovers new talents.