On September 10, Ukrainians will celebrate the Day of Ukrainian Cinema for the twentieth time. What better reason than to talk about the most resonant novelties of domestic cinema?! The ideological direction of the holiday from the very beginning has included support for the initiatives of Ukrainian cinematographers, and also aims to eliminate facepalms from citizens' faces at the mere mention of the phrase "Ukrainian cinema."
Interestingly, it took Ukrainians exactly a hundred years to introduce such a holiday at the state level! This is the same amount of time that separates the first attempts of Kharkiv photographer Alfred Fedetsky, who shot short chronicles, and the introduction of the holiday in 1996.
Oleksandr Dovzhenko
We state: the current situation in the state cinema, although not at a rapid pace, is still improving. Yes, of course, the basis of any cinema, as before, is foreign films (mostly American), but domestic directors are also starting to shoot, and now, to talk about Ukrainian cinema, you don't need to immediately recall the Soviet times and think, say, that our entire history of cinema ends with Dovzhenko, Paradzhan, Kavaleridze, Mykolaychuk and Bykov.
Sergey Parajanov
Actually, as you might have guessed, the purpose of this material, dedicated to the anniversary of the Day of Ukrainian Cinema, is to talk about the freshest and newest Ukrainian cinema. To deliver another eulogy in honor of, without a doubt, the great figures listed in the previous paragraph is too "mainstream" and unoriginal. But to look behind the scenes of films that have just been released or are just being prepared, films that are shot by our enthusiastic people, films that are afraid to show in cinemas (this is not "Interstellar", no one dares to take a risk) is definitely necessary! So, for your attention, the top (without reference to places) films of Ukrainian cinema of recent years.
"Sentry Post"
The premiere of the first Ukrainian fantasy film in history with a budget of 40 million UAH. is scheduled for December 22 of this year, and it has been talked about for more than one day. And they talk, I must say, not in vain, because the filming process and some other background details tell us that it will truly be another level. Something that at least in terms of visual effects will not be inferior to Hollywood, because they (the effects) were taken on by one of the world's leading studios Postmodern - a multiple nominee for the VES award (an analogue of the Oscar in the field of visual effects). The film about the Ukrainian schoolboy Viktor and superheroes Oleshko, Ilya and Dobrynya, made based on the story of the same name by Volodymyr Rutkivskyi, was shot in the Carpathians, on the Dovbush Rocks in Ivano-Frankivsk region, in the Korostyshev quarry, in Bucha. Ivan Malkovich, whose publishing house "A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga" was engaged in the direct publication of Rutkivsky's book, shares his impressions of the upcoming film: "I can't imagine how Ukraine got to where it is today without such films. During the Soviet Union, we were only allowed silent cartoons about Cossacks. But Ukrainians turned out to be a strong nation, they survived...".
"This story carries a very strong and correct message for the younger generation. Plus the presence of adventures, famous heroes, fantasy and love... We wanted to create a film that would be watched by a large number of viewers, which would make us emotionally accept, sympathize with and love our main characters. Therefore, we identified the main points for ourselves: a fascinating plot, strong actors, textured costumes and scenery. And, of course, visual effects, computer graphics, without which it is difficult to imagine modern cinema in this genre," says the film's producer Yegor Olesov. "What is important is that already at the filming stage we agreed on the support of the project from one of the leading media groups in the country - StarLight Media. We have wonderful actors, a very strong team, and I am really happy to work with them on such an interesting project," he adds.
Finally, let's say that the film's distribution rights have already been sold to France, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Israel, and South Korea.
Trailer:
"Hetman"
Directed by Kramatorsk native Valery Yambursky based on the novel of the same name by Viktor Veretennikov, the historical-drama film was released on October 29, 2015. The film tells us about, so to speak, the other side of the outstanding hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. This is not the image of a brave Cossack, a commander, that we had the opportunity to encounter while leafing through a school textbook. Yambursky depicts the love of the famous hetman for the young Polish woman Helena Chaplinska, revealing to us the most sincere and subtle feelings that a warrior's soul is capable of nurturing. The film, which was shot in Kyiv, Lviv, Kamianets-Podilskyi and Bakhchysarai, sounds in several languages at once: in addition to Ukrainian, it is Polish, Tatar and Russian.
Trailer:
"Alive"
The film by the famous Lviv documentary filmmaker Taras Khymych, scheduled for release in October this year, was presented in May in the Ukrainian pavilion of the Cannes Film Festival. The plot is based on the separation of a couple caused by the war. He, a UPA centurion, is taken away by the Chekists, she is his wife, who is forced to go into hiding. When both have finally lost hope that they are alive, they are destined to meet each other during interrogation. “Alive” is a story filmed on real events in the life of Anna Popovych, a resident of the village of Nahirna, Cherkasy region. Having gone through a terrible path of oppression and humiliation, 91-year-old Anna allowed her own, so-called Ukrainian, story to be brought to the screen.
Trailer:
"Legend of the Carpathians"
The short film-series version of Serhiy Skobun was presented at Cannes this year, as well as "Alive". The film is dedicated to a kind of Carpathian Robin Hood - Oleksiy Dovbush, the leader of the opryshki who liked to "walk" around the estates of landowners and distribute the loot to the peasants. The name of Dovbush, who died in 1745, is abundantly embellished with folk songs and legends. The main roles of the series are Valeriy Kharchyshyn and Maria Yaremchuk.
Trailer:
"Tribe"
The crime drama by Myroslav Slaboshpytsky, released on September 11, 2014, is based on the story of a boy named Serhiy, who arrives at a boarding school for the deaf, where he joins a criminal group of wild teenagers called "The Tribe" and falls in love with a girl named Anya. The film's positive reviews are mainly due to its uniqueness. "The Tribe" is filmed in sign language, without a single word. There are no subtitles or voice-overs. The film can rightfully be considered the most titled film since independence, as it has collected more than 40 awards, including three prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. The budget of the film, which was shot for about six months, was 14 million hryvnias.
Trailer:
"Flight of the Golden Fly"
Ivan Kravchyshyn's comedy was conceived back in the 1990s, when the director and screenwriter from Snyatyn read Bohdan Voloshyn's short story "Testament." After agreeing on all the details and receiving permission for the film adaptation, Kravchyshyn began filming in April 2013, most of which took place in Ivano-Frankivsk.
“We are not filming about Hutsuls and we are not filming about Boykos — we are filming about Galicians in general. This is a small self-sufficient civilization that lives in the center of Europe. It does not want to please anyone, it does not want to make anyone laugh — it is what it is. I want to show these people as they are,” the author shares the main idea of the film. “Flight of the Golden Fly,” which was well received at last year’s Odessa Film Festival, received an official release in February of this year. The plot is based on the residents of the western Ukrainian village of Burachkovychi, who find themselves in various comical situations.
Trailer:
As we can see, Ukrainian cinema really does exist. It exists and is developing. It's just up to us, the viewers, to change our internal attitude and stop shying away from our own product.
Author: Maksym Timchenko.
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