Ukraine has had an influence on the history of the cinema. Ukrainian directors Alexander Dovzhenko, often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, as well as being a pioneer of Soviet montage theory, Dovzhenko Film Studios, and Sergei Parajanov, Armenian film director and artist who made significant contributions to Ukrainian, Armenian and Georgian cinema. He invented his own cinematic style, Ukrainian poetic cinema, which was totally out of step with the guiding principles of socialist realism.
Other important directors including Kira Muratova, Larisa Shepitko, Sergei Bondarchuk, Leonid Bykov, Yuri Ilyenko, Leonid Osyka, Ihor Podolchak with his Delirium and Maryna Vroda. Many Ukrainian actors have achieved international fame and critical success, including: Vera Kholodnaya, Bohdan Stupka, Milla Jovovich, Olga Kurylenko, Renata Litvinova, Mila Kunis.
Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry has often been characterised by a debate about its identity and the level of Russian and European influence. Ukrainian producers are active in international co-productions and Ukrainian actors, directors and crew feature regularly in Russian (Soviet in past) films. Also successful films have been based on Ukrainian people, stories or events, including Battleship Potemkin, Man with a Movie Camera, Everything Is Illuminated. The highest-grossing film ever is Avatar with £5.2 million in 2009.
Ukrainian State Film Agency owns National Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Centre, film copying laboratory and archive, takes part in hosting of the Odessa International Film Festival, and Molodist is the only one FIAPF accredited International Film Festival held in Ukraine; competition program is devoted to student, first short and first full feature films from all over the world. Held annually in October.
Film studios
State owned
- Dovzhenko Film Studios (Kyiv)
- Odessa Film Studio (Odesa)
- National Cinematheque of Ukraine (former Kyivnaukfilm) (Kyiv)
- Ukrtelefilm
- Yalta Film Studio
Privately owned
- Film.UA
- Yalta-Film Film Studio
Film distribution
B&H Film Distribution Company is a major Ukrainian film distributor; it is the local distributor of films by Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures).
Ukrainian Film Distribution (formerly Gemini Ukraine) is the local distributor of films by 20th Century Fox (Fox Searchlight Pictures, Blue Sky Studios).
Kinomania is the local distributor of films by Warner Brothers (New Line Cinema).
Short films, festival winners and art house are mostly disrtibuted by Arthouse traffic.
Festivals
- Molodist, Kyiv International Film Festival (1970-)
- Kyiv International Film Festival, (2009-)
- Odessa International Film Festival, (2010-)
- Animation Film Festival "Krok", (1987) organized by the Ukrainian Association of Cinematographers and takes place in Ukraine and Russia
- Pokrov, international festival of Christian Orthodox cinema, held in Kyiv (2003-)
- Vidkryta Nich (Open Night), festival of Ukrainian debut short films, held in Kyiv (1997-)
- Kharkiv Siren Film Festival, international festival of short feature films, held in Kharkiv (2008-)
- Wiz-Art, International Short Film Festival, held in Lviv (2008-)
- VAU-Fest, International Video Art and Short Film Festival, held in the town of Ukrainka in Kyiv oblast (2010-)
- Kinofront, festival of Ukrainian Z and indie movies (2008-)
- Docudays UA, international human rights documentary film festival, held in Kyiv with travelling program around Ukraine (2003-)
- Contact, international documentary film festival, held in Kyiv (2005-2007)
- Berdiansk International Film Festival "Golden Brigantine", festival of cinema made in Commonwealth of Independent States and Baltic countries, held in the city of Berdiansk (2011)
- Irpin Film Festival, international noncommercial festival of alternative cinema, held in the town of Irpin (2003)
- Golden Pektorale, International Truskavets Film Festival, held in the town of Truskavets
- Mute Nights, Odessa, International silent film festival which is held in Odessa on the third week on June.
- Kino-Yalta, festival of producer's cinema (2003) organized together with the Russian government
- Sebastopol International Film Festival, held in Sevastopol, Crimea (2005-2009, 2011)
Awards
- Shevchenko National Prize, for the Performing Arts
- Dovzhenko State Prize of Ukraine
- Scythian deer, the main prize of the International Student Cinematography Festival Molodist
- Golden Duke, the main prize of the Odessa International Film Festival (OIFF)
- Sunny bunny of the international student cinematography festival Molodist
- Ukrainian Panorama of the international student cinematography festival Molodist
Former awards
- Lenin's Komsomol Prize of Ukrainian SSR
Notable films
- 1926 Ягідки ÐºÐ¾Ñ…Ð°Ð½Ð½Ñ / Love's Berries, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (silent film)
- 1928 ÐÑ€Ñенал / Arsenal, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (silent film)
- 1928 Звенигора / Zvenigora, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (silent film)
- 1929 Людина Ñ ÐºÑ–Ð½Ð¾Ð°Ð¿Ð°Ñ€Ð°Ñ‚Ð¾Ð¼ / Man with a Movie Camera, directed by Dziga Vertov (documentary film)
- 1930 Ð—ÐµÐ¼Ð»Ñ / Earth, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (silent film)
- 1932 Іван / Ivan, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (silent film)
- 1935 Ðероград / Aerograd, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (sci-fi)
- 1936 Ðаталка Полтавка / Natalka Poltavka, directed by Ivan Kavaleridze
- 1939 Ð©Ð¾Ñ€Ñ / Shchors, directed by Alexander Dovzhenko (documentary film)
- 1965 Тіні забутих предків / Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, directed by Serhiy Paradzanov
- 1970 Ð'ілий птах з чорною ознакою / White Bird with Black Mark, directed by Yuriy Illienko
- 1972 Пропала Ð"рамота / The Lost Letter, directed by Borys Ivchenko
- 1973 Ð' бой идут одни «Ñтарики» / Only Old Men Are Going to Battle, directed by Leonid Bykov
- 1991 Ð"олод-33 / Famine-33, directed by Oles Yanchuk
- 1995 МоÑкаль-чарівник / Moskal-Charivnyk, directed by Mykola Zasieiev-Rudenko
- 2000 ÐеÑкорений / The Undefeated, directed by Oles Yanchuk
- 2003 Мамай / Mamay, directed by Oles Sanin
- 2005 Ð"рібний Ð"ощ / Drizzle, directed by Heorhiy Deliyev
- 2006 Помаранчеве небо / The Orange Sky, directed by Oleksandr Kiriyenko
- 2006 Ðврора / Aurora, directed by Oksana Bairak
- 2008 Las Meninas, directed by Ihor Podolchak
- 2010 Золотий вереÑень. Хроніка Ð"аличини 1939-1941 / Golden September The Galician Chronicles 1939-1941, directed by Taras Khymych (documentary film)
- 2010 ЩаÑÑ‚Ñ Ð¼Ð¾Ñ" / My Joy, directed by Serhiy Loznytsia
- 2011 Той, хто пройшов крізь вогонь / Firecrosser, directed by Mykhailo Illienko
Top awards
Top Ukrainian-language films by IMDb rating
Actors
- Vira Kholodna (Ð'Ñ–Ìра Ð'аÑиÌлівна ХолоÌдна, née Levchenko, Левченко; 1893-1919)
- Ivan Mykolaichuk (June 15, 1941 â€" August 3, 1987)
- Bohdan Stupka (August 27, 1941 â€" July 22, 2012)
- Rayisa Nedashkivska (Ukrainian: РаїÑа ÐедашківÑька; 17 February 1943)
- Gregory Hlady (December 4, 1954)
- Ruslana Pysanka (November 17, 1965)
- Taisia Povaliy (December 10, 1965)
- David Vadim (March 28, 1972)
- Eugene Hütz (September 6, 1972)
- Oleg Prudius (April 27, 1972)
- Milla Jovovich (December 17, 1975)
- Olga Kurylenko (November 14, 1979)
- Mila Kunis (August 14, 1983)
- Larysa Poznyak (May 30, 1985)
Directors
- Serhiy Bondarchuk (September 25, 1920 â€" October 20, 1994)
- Serhiy Bukovsky (1960)
- Leonid Bykov (December 12, 1928 â€" April 11, 1979)
- Hryhoriy Chukhrai (May 23, 1921 â€" October 28, 2001)
- Andriy Donchyk (September 11, 1961)
- Alexander Dovzhenko (September 10 [O.S. August 29] 1894 â€" November 25, 1956)
- Myhaylo Illienko (June 29, 1947)
- Yuriy Illienko (July 16, 1936 - June 15, 2010)
- Yakov Levi
- Anatole Litvak (May 10, 1902 â€" December 15, 1974)
- Kira Muratova (November 5, 1934)
- Leonid Osyka (March 8, 1940 - September 16, 2001)
- Ihor Podolchak (April 9, 1962)
- Larisa Shepitko (6 January 1938 â€" 2 June 1979)
- Dziga Vertov (2 January 1896 â€" 12 February 1954)
- Peter Weibel
History of the cinema in Ukraine
On the territory of Odessa film studio there is a Museum of the Cinema, in which you can find out about many interesting facts on the history of the cinema in general and history of Ukrainian cinema as a part. Here you can find historic materials, from the invention of cinema, to the postmodern, digital and avant garde.
Government and civil bodies concerned
is administrated by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Cinematographers.
See also
- Cinema of the world
- Ukrainian Association of Cinematographers
References
External links
- Ukrainian Film Club at Columbia University
- Ukrainian cinema
- (Notable films and awards)
- UkraÑ–nian Film CommÑ–ssion
- UkraÑ–nian Cinema Foundation
- Ukrainian cinema rises from the ashes
- Defining and Exploring Ukrainian Cinema
- International Film Guide. Ukraine
- Scenes of belonging: cinema and the nationality question in Soviet Ukraine during the long 1960s
- History of Cinema in UKRAINE
- Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University
- Ukrainian indie films portal
- Cinemahall, International organization for informal film education