Crisis: A Visit of
Ukrainian Film Shoot

During my five-week visit to Ukraine, the director Valeriy Yambursky invited me to attend the shoot of his debut feature narrative picture, "The Crisis". The set was a cemetery near the picturesque village of Kolentsi, north of Kyiv. A small group consisting of the film crew and cast was dispatched in two vintage Soviet-era buses and two mini-buses of more recent Russian make [parading as Mercedeses] to the outskirts of the village on a grey warm day in early June. They were joined by a dozen local women hired as extras. The women were in a solemn mood, prepared for their part; the episode about to be shot was a funeral. They were visibly excited, after all, this was their "fifteen minutes of fame." Their mature age, mid-fifties to mid-seventies, did little to dampen their enthusiasm.


The events are held on the Columbia University campus, usually in one of the lecture halls at the Department of Slavic Languages, Hamilton Hall, seventh floor. There are also off-campus lectures/presentations in other U.S. cities and in other countries. The UFCCU has held screenings at Rutgers, Ohio State, and Harvard universities, the University of Toronto as well as at non-academic venues in Philadelphia, Edmonton, Toronto, Chicago, Hartford, CT, Yonkers, NY, and other cities. The Club offers its film collection and expertise to facilitate film presentations on invitation from interested parties outside Columbia University. Inquiries should be sent to Yuri Shevchuk.

The on-campus events usually take place every third Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM during the regular academic year with Christmas and summer holiday breaks. The events are announced on this website as well as on various internet mailing lists, Brama, in the Ukrainian Weekly and at other New York City universities such as New York University, City University of New York, the New School for Social Research and, of course, Columbia.

From left: Arnold Dec, executive director of the Festival, Oles Dzyndra director of KinoLev Film Festival, Jury members Yuri Shevchuk, Peter Michalovic and Peter Dubecki (both Slovakia).

Club at Crossroads of Europe, Poland

As a sign of recognition for the Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University and the work it has done promoting Ukrainian film internationally and building contacts between Ukrainian filmmakers and their colleagues worldwide, Yuri Shevchuk, the Club’s founding director was invited to serve as member of the Jury at the International Documentary Film Festival Crossroads of Europe in the city of Lublin, Poland, April 22-26, 2009.  >>>

Highlights of Spring Semester-2009

From left: Yuri Shevchuk, Anna Frajlich professor of Polish, and Krzysztof Zanussi during the discussion of “Persona Non Grata”.

Krzysztof Zanussi at Columbia

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, Krzysztof Zanussi appeared to a small but eager crowd assembled in Barnard’s Schemerhorn Hall.  Hosted by the Polish Studies Program and the Ukrainian Film Club with the support of the Harriman Institute, the Columbia University Film School, and the Institute for Central and Eastern Europe, the event featured a discussion led by Zanussi followed by a screening of his Persona Non Grata (2005).  >>>
 

NYU film student Bohdana Smyrnova entertaining questions from the audience.

Gay Desire in New Ukrainian Cinema

On January 22, the Ukrainian Film Club and QUIPASA (the GLBT organization at the School for International and Public Affairs of Columbia University) hosted the event "Gay Desire in New Ukrainian Cinema."  More than fifty people came to watch two Ukrainian films depicting lesbian relationships, the feature-length "Sappho" (2008) directed by Robert Crombey and filmed on location in the Crimea, and the short film by New York University film student and Ukrainian national Bohdana Smyrnova "Ramona's New Dresser" (2008).  Bohdana and Columbia professor of Ukrainian and Film Studies Yuri Shevchuk were also on hand to answer questions during a discussion session after the screenings.  >>>
 
 

The Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University (UFCCU) is a forum of Ukrainian Cinema in New York City. It is a non-for-profit educational and cultural initiative within the expanding Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia University. It was organized in October 2004. Its events are free and open to all. Its goal is to promote knowledge of Ukrainian cinema in the world. >>>

The UFCCU collection consists of the films donated by their directors to the Club or acquired through open commercial distribution. The films are made in Ukraine or in other countries on Ukrainian subject matter. Films are in DVD format with the exception of a few on VHS. Ukrainian-made films have English subtitles. As a matter of policy the Club neither loans nor duplicates the films in its collection, most of which are unique copies with English language subtitles. Instead we gladly accept invitations to screen films at various outside venues. >>>

 
 

Typically, a UFCCU event consists of a brief introduction by Yuri Shevchuk, the founding director of UFFCU and lecturer of the Ukrainian language and culture at Columbia; a screening; and a discussion with the audience participation. Events are organized thematically, around a chosen film either made in or related to Ukraine, or around an individual director or group of filmmakers. Ideally the Club would like to screen films with the participation of their directors. We have already hosted Taras Tomenko, Serhiy Bukovsky, and Taras Tkachenko of Kyiv, Ukraine, and Andrea Odezynska of New York, NY. >>>

Parallel to film presentations and lectures, the UFCCU runs various projects aimed at promoting the knowledge of Ukrainian cinema and Ukraine in the West. Among its on-going projects are:

  • The International Translation Workshop

  • Ukraine. A View from the West

  • Ukrainian themes in Hollywood

  • Ukrainian film in an International Perspective >>>
 
 

UFCCU exists thanks to the institutional support of the Ukrainian Studies Program, the Ukrainian Studies Fund, the Department of Slavic Languages, and the Harriman Institute of Columbia University. Financially it depends exclusively on generosity and support of individual and institutional donors. >>>

The Club's website Forum is provided for the audience of our many events and presentations to express their opinions and thus offer the filmmakers in Ukraine much-needed international feedback. The Club customarily notifies the directors whose films it will be screening next, and they often respond to audience comments expressed on the Forum. We actively encourage such participation in whatever language. We appreciate your comments both on films, film-related matters, and on our website and how it can be improved. When posting a comment on the Forum be sure to enter the password letters given above the "preview message" button into the blank space provided and then click on "post message". >>>

Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University© 2008. For more information please contact Yuri Shevchuk