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Sword fighting Georgians, happiness in a box, hijacking a hot air
balloon to a faraway place where a “Spoon is still a Spoon” were
just a few of some twenty films screened at a three-day inaugural event
dedicated to modern Ukrainian film and independent filmmakers. The
Ukrainian Film Festival co-sponsored by the Ukrainian League of Philadelphia
and the Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University was held March 9,
10 and 11, 2007 in Philadelphia, PA as part of the League’s 90th
anniversary celebration.
Dr. Yuri Shevchuk, lecturer of Ukrainian language and culture at Columbia
University and founder of the Columbia University’s Ukrainian
Film Club (UFCCU), a forum for showcasing the best of Ukrainian cinema,
both classic and new, curates an array of films presenting them to
film enthusiasts across the United States and Canada. He introduced
the Opening Night program on Friday evening with Short Feature Films
and Documentaries ranging from Crimean Tartar culture in Viktoria Melnykova’s
WITH BEST WISHES, ENVER, impressionistic CASTLES OF UKRAINE by Artem
Sukharev and remote village life to the Maidan amid opposing forces
of the Orange Revolution and reminders of present day Ukrainian mentality
in Serhiy Masloboyshchykov’s NEVSEREMOS, PEOPLE FROM MAIDAN.
A discussion followed offering the audience an opportunity to ask questions,
express their observations and comment on the film’s impression
on them.
Saturday evening opened with insightful production and background
stories about films and filmmaking in the Best Ukrainian Short Films
program starting with Ihor Strembitsky’s documentary film THE
WAYFARERS (PODOROZHNI) winner of the most prestigious Golden Palm Award
for Best Short, the Palme d’Or at Festival de Cannes in 2005;
COUNTERCLOCKWISE by Valentyn Vasyanovych winner of a Special Jury Prize
at the 7th International Short Film Festival at Clermont-Ferrand, France
in 2005; STREETCAR NO. 9 and ZLYDNI by Stepan Koval, a stop action
animated claymation, winner of the Silver Bear at the 53rd Berlinale
(Berlin) International Film Festival in 2003; THE PLAY FOR THREE ACTORS
by Oleksander Shmyhun winner of the Viewers Award for Best Short Animation
at Sao Paolo International Film Festival in 2005; and A TRAGIC LOVE
FOR UNFAITHFUL NUSKA by Taras Tkachenko winner of Best Narrative Short,
Open Night Film Festival in Kyiv, 2004. Due to the audience’s
fascination and enthusiasm, additional films were shown well into the
evening.
The final day, Sunday, began with a filmmaker’s brunch sponsored
by the League and graciously hosted by Ukrainian League executive,
Sofeeka Hasiuk. Guests had an opportunity to meet and mingle with the
filmmakers in a relaxed atmosphere. Festival coordinator and visionary
Andrew Kotliar described his reasons for undertaking the Festival’s
planning and implementation with hopes for creating a place where a
homegrown Ukrainian filmmaking community can take root and flourish.
While funding for independent in the U.S. is a major challenge for
all independent filmmakers, it certainly can be an extremely frustrating
environment for Ukrainian filmmakers in Ukraine.
Recent developments on the Ukrainian population’s right to watch
foreign films dubbed or subtitled in the Ukrainian language reached
a “compromise” between the Ukrainian government and film
distributors; however, exceptions to ascribed Ukrainian-language quotas
will be made on documentaries, independent productions and art house
films. This is a disappointing decision that may have serious repercussions
on what would be considered a Ukrainian film at independent film festivals
(which number to over 3,000 organized festivals in a calendar year)
where film distributors, independent cable stations and film buyers
scout for potential theatrical releases.
The afternoon program moderated by Christina Kotlar, gave attending
filmmakers an opportunity to discuss their work and voice personal
opinions regarding circumstances that affect them as independent filmmakers.
Natasha Mikhalchuk introduced her first film, KOLKY, a short documentary
and character study of her now deceased grandparents through oral histories
from her family’s heritage and members of the village Kolky capturing
memories of rural women that lived through some of the most devastating
events of the 20th century.
Lesya Kalynska from Kyiv is currently enrolled in the MFA program
at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts majoring in film directing. Her
two short films, a documentary NIKO and narrative THE BALLOONIST (shot
in Super 16 and received the 2006 Best Student Film Award at the U.S.
Hope and Dreams International Film Festival) speak a universal language
reflecting the American Dream of hope and desire people have when they
come to this country – usually from repressed societies – only
to find the streets are not paved in gold. Lesya also produced a short
film THE DEBT, directed by Levan Koguashvili, that was an Official
Selection for the Tribeca and Sundance Film Festivals.
While not in attendance, two films that gained festival and national
attention was HAPPINESS – what would you do with a box of happiness? – written
and directed by Sophie Barthes (Official Selection at Sundance Film
Festival) and MERTVI PIVNI (DEAD ROOSTERS) directed by Andrij Parekh
who was also the cinematographer for independent film, HALF NELSON
that was recently nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor
category.
Veteran filmmaker/video artist Andrea Odezynska is a graduate of the
American Film Institute’s Program in Directing and whose film
DORA IS DYSFUNCTIONAL won accolades at the Hampton and Rotterdam Film
Festivals. She went to Ukraine with the Yara Arts Group as a videographer
and became the subject of a film. THE WHISPERER is as lyrical as the
songs within the film itself and sometimes it takes an editor's intuition
to find the story as was the case with Andrea and Katherine Barnier,
a noted editor whose most recent documentary BANISHED screened at the
Sundance Film Festival this year. This film is captivating with spiritual
incantations and ritualistic Healing Arts in the heart of the Carpathian
Mountains where tradition and a “Spoon is a Spoon” goes
back centuries and is handed down through oral traditions. After completing
this as a personal story, her changed luck continues to “runneth
over” as she followed the film festival circuit, found a distributor
and through someone’s DVD purchase she was invited to the Independent
Spirit Film Festival in Tel Aviv this April thus prolonging the film’s
screening life. And so, film life goes on.
Christina Kotlar is an independent filmmaker working on completing
her documentary SONS OF THE FOREST this summer. She founded Film Festival
reViews and produces weekly podcast programs exploring the increasing
number of film festivals around the world assessing current trends
in independent filmmaking, festival venues, emerging filmmakers and
markets with a continuously-updated worldwide film festival schedule
providing an informative
site for both the independent filmmaker and
discerning film audience. Conversations
with the filmmakers can be downloaded via the Film Festival reViews
website or Podango.com on the Culture Catch podcasting station.
Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University. Since its establishment
in 2004, the Ukrainian Film Club has become a unique international
initiative with a mission to provide a forum promoting the best of
Ukrainian cinema and connecting Ukrainian filmmakers with the rest
of the world.
The Ukrainian League of Philadelphia was founded in 1917 to serve as
a
social club for Ukrainian immigrants, and this year is celebrating
its
90th anniversary. Located near the Art Museum in downtown Philadelphia,
it is uniquely situated to serve as a venue showcasing modern Ukrainian
culture in a revitalizing urban American neighborhood. League members
will continue to work with the New York based Ukrainian film community
to promote independent filmmaking- readers who wish to know more about
this effort should contact Andrew
Kotliar.
Christina Kotlar
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