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campaign image Kino Ukraïna, still from Zemlya (Earth) (Alexander Dovzhenko, SU 1930)
still from Zemlya (Earth) (Alexander Dovzhenko, SU 1930)

Films, talks & events

Kino Ukraïna

8 — 26 May 2022

still from Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors) (Sergei Parajanov, SU 1964)
still from Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors) (Sergei Parajanov, SU 1964)

Kira Muratova, Yuri Ilyenko, Alexander Dovzhenko and Maryna Er Gorbach – just a few of the directors featured in Kino Ukraïna. Names that cover the period from the 1930s and ’60s to now; from the Soviet era up to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

This month, Eye is screening ten films by filmmakers who were born or who work (or have worked) in Ukraine, a country that ever since the Maidan Revolution has been fighting for recognition of its unique history, language and culture.

still from Klondike (Maryna Er Gorbach, UA/TR 2022)
still from Klondike (Maryna Er Gorbach, UA/TR 2022)
still from Volcano (Roman Bondarchuk, UA/DE 2018)
still from Volcano (Roman Bondarchuk, UA/DE 2018)

What links these makers of different ages and backgrounds is their independence of spirit. Directors such as Dovzhenko, Muratova and Ilyenko turned away – not without consequences – from the aesthetics of Socialist Realism, while makers from the latest generation (Roman Bondarchuk, Maryna Er Gorbach) courageously bring the reality of Russian aggression into their narratives.

A striking element is the love these makers show for the cultural history of Ukraine and its inhabitants. The country’s nature, customs and landscape are celebrated, particularly in classics such as Dovzhenko's Zemlya (1930) and A Spring for the Thirsty (1965, Yuri Ilyenko). This tradition also shines through in the short poetic film Doma kak doma (2020) by Eefje Suijkerbuijk, in which various Ukrainians speak in tableaux vivants about their lives and their country’s exceptional history.

still from Doma kak doma (Home is Home) (Eefje Suijkerbuijk, NL/UA 2020)
still from Doma kak doma (Home is Home) (Eefje Suijkerbuijk, NL/UA 2020)
still from Brief Encounters (Kira Muratova, SU 1967)
still from Brief Encounters (Kira Muratova, SU 1967)

Kino Ukraïna shows classics of Ukrainian cinema alongside contemporary productions by committed artists and filmmakers. Together, these create an impression of Ukraine, its culture and its inhabitants.

poster Kino Ukraïna, still from Zemlya (Earth) (Alexander Dovzhenko, SU 1930)
still from Zemlya (Earth) (Alexander Dovzhenko, SU 1930)

Films, talks & events

The proceeds of ticket sales will go to the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre, the largest Ukrainian film archive.

still from War Note (Roman Liubyi, UA 2020)
still from War Note (Roman Liubyi, UA 2020)

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