Film series to focus on Ukraine's history (01/10/93)

Film series to focus on Ukraine's history

by Alla Rogers

WASHINGTON - Mykola Vinhranovsky, Ukrainian poet and film director, as well as Shevchenko Prize Laureate, has commenced work on a 15-part documentary film about the history of Ukraine.

The basis for this series, with each segment lasting approximately 20 minutes, will be a look at the ancient cities that served as the spiritual and political focal points for national identity and survival through centuries of historical evolution toward nationhood.

This overview will include a look at the importance of Kiev in the era of its ancient princes, Halych and Kholm in the period of Danylo Halytskyi; Khortytsia, Chyhyryn, Hlukhiv, and Baturyn in the Hetman period; Kiev, Vinnytsia and Kamianets-Podilsky in the period of the Ukrainian National Republic. Huliaypole, Lviv, Kharkiv and Khust will reflect the Revolution and early Soviet era. The role of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and a look at Kiev as the center of an already independent Ukraine will close the circle.

Mr. Vinhranovsky's aim is to recreate a historical biography of Ukraine for the movie screen - to narrate the tale of a people as if for the first time and to create a primer, an "A-B-C" if you will, of 2,000 years of history leading up to Ukraine's proclamation of freedom in 1991. All historically significant figures, be they princes, holy men or hetmans, shine through the ages with their courage, wisdom and vision, the writer says.

In the settings of the film Mr. Vinhranovsky is using the work of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Volodymyr Antonovych, Dmytro Doroshenko, Dmytro Yavornytsky and Mykola Arkas.

Work on the project, expected to take two years to complete, has already begun. The project will be completed under the aegis of the Kiev film studio for historic and documentary film. Government support and approval notwithstanding, Mr. Vinhranovsky is already experiencing a deficit in his film budget as well as difficulty in obtaining the necessary quality of film stock that will insure the archival survival of his work.

If you are interested in this project or would like more information please contact Alla Rogers, (202) 333-8595, or send a fax message to (202) 965-5124.

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