Ukrainian film to be shown at Freedom Film Festival (02/15/98)

Ukrainian film to be shown at Freedom Film Festival

LOS ANGELES - A new film festival - the 1997-1998 Freedom Film Festival - will kick off its Los Angeles run after a weeklong opening run in the nation's capital in December 1997. The festival here will begin on February 26 with a gala and screening at the Paramount Theater on the Paramount studio's lot in Hollywood.

The festival will celebrate the effects of democracy and freedom on Central and Eastern European filmmakers who have labored for years under oppression and whose important works are being seen here now, many for the first time. New and classic films were selected for the festival by The American Cinema Foundation in collaboration with the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) from the Czech Republic.

"The Freedom Film Festival honors the kind of integrity and courage inspired by the overthrow of tyranny. We are proud to bring Americans a glimpse of this century's most significant explosion of filmmaking talent," stated Gary McVey, executive director of the American Cinema Foundation.

The 1997-1998 Freedom Film Festival will present such classic films as Polish director Andrzej Wajda's masterful 1976 film, "Man of Marble," which preceded the revolutionary Solidarity movement in Poland.

New films in the festival that have recently grabbed the attention of film industry insiders include "Poznan '56," a bitter remembrance of the depths of the Iron Curtain era from Poland, directed by Philip Bajon; "The Forgotten Light," the controversial story of a Catholic priest who defies the authorities, winner of the Jury Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, directed by Vladimir Michalek; Russia's "The Thief," directed by Pavel Chukrai and touted as a possible Oscar nominee; and Ukraine's "Assassination: An Autumn Murder in Munich," directed by Oles Yanchuk, a political thriller set in post-war Germany that has been compared to films like "Z" and "All The President's Men."

The festival played to a sold-out audience at the American Film Institute's (AFI) National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington on December 2-6, 1997. Robert Duvall opened the festival, with his recollections of filming in Eastern Europe and as numerous diplomats and the foreign press corps listened, Mr. Duvall promoted his idea for a "radical center" that cares about the human rights abuses of post-war Eastern Europe. Eva Zaoralova, the director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, stirred the crowd with her vivid personal remembrances of the Communist era, and Lionel Chetwynd, president of the American Cinema Foundation, talked about the role a thoughtful Hollywood can play in shaping world opinion.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival held each year in the Czech Republic has been Central Europe's leading film festival for over 50 years. In recent years the festival has brought a body of important work to the attention of the world. Founded in 1946, the KVIFF was kept under ideological control until the fall of communism. Since 1990, the festival has gained prestige as one of the world's most important sources of filmmaking skill as the works of exiled directors and new talent has been revealed. The Freedom Film Festival will allow Americans to experience the works of the KVIFF.

The American Cinema Foundation (ACF) is a non-profit, non-partisan group headquartered in Los Angeles and dedicated to recognizing films and television programs that exemplify positive social values, such as tolerance, respect for others and freedom of thought.

The Freedom Film Festival is open to the public from Friday, February 27, through Tuesday, March 3. Tickets are available, on the day of the performance, from the box office of the Laemmle Monica Theater at 1332 Second St., Santa Monica, Calif.; (310) 394-9741.

| Home Page |