MONTREAL – The Ukrainian-language educational version of the documentary film “Okradena Zemlya” has been completed, ushering in the upcoming 85th anniversary of the 1932-1933 Famine-Genocide in Ukraine.
The new documentary release will add to the resource material available for Ukrainian-language teachers in Canada, the United States, Ukraine and other countries. This documentary is a shortened version of the original 75-minute feature documentary directed and edited by filmmaker Yurij Luhovy. The Ukrainian-language educational release includes two versions for teachers to select from, 28 minutes and 54 minutes in lengh, on one DVD. Teachers of the Holodomor can choose the version that better fits into the length of their class time.
“Okradena Zemlya” exposes Moscow’s policy of genocide against the Ukrainian nation. The film focuses on the 1932-1933 Holodomor engineered by Stalin’s regime against the rural population, the decimation of the national elite and Churches, and the destruction of Ukraine’s historical past. It reveals one of the greatest human tragedies of the 20th century.
“Okradena Zemlya” is based on testimonies of survivors, commentaries by historians, declassified Soviet archival documents and rare historical footage. The award-winning documentary was shot in eastern Ukraine. Today, most of the areas where this documentary filmed remaining survivors is once again inaccessible, devastated by Russia’s ongoing hybrid war in eastern Ukraine.
The documentary is under the patronage of the Ukrainian World Congress. The Ukrainian-language version was made possible with the help of the Shevchenko Foundation and support from BCU Foundation, the Ukrainian Studies Foundation in Australia and others.
The Ukrainian-language version is the fifth major release by producers Mr. Luhovy and Zorianna Hrycenko in their efforts to make available teacher resource materials and to help bring public awareness to the Holodomor and the policies of genocide against the Ukrainian nation.
The following documentaries in this series are available. The original, 75-minute Ukrainian-language feature documentary “Okradena Zemlya,” narrated by Bohdan Beniuk; the English-language multi-award-winning feature documentary version “Genocide Revealed,” narrated by Canadian Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene; the English-language educational version of “Genocide Revealed” for teachers, with 26-minute and 54-minute versions on one DVD; and finally, the French-language 75-minute feature documentary version titled “Genocide d’une nation,” narrated by internationally acclaimed actress Genevieve Bujold.
These documentaries, which have received high praise from historians and specialists in Holodomor-genocide studies, were made possible with the support of Caisse Populaire Desjardins Ukrainienne de Montreal, Shevchenko Foundation, Temerty Family Foundation, Zaraska Family Foundation, Danyliw Foundation, BCU Foundation, Chicago Ukrainian Genocide Famine Foundation and others.
Mr. Luhovy stated: “I am so pleased we have finally been able to complete the Ukrainian-language educational version. Without the encouragement and financial support of the community, it would have been impossible to make these documentaries on the Famine-Genocide to help increase public awareness. This work has not been easy, but with the dedicated and determined team, we never gave up and continued to ensure these versions are made. I am also pleased we have been able to donate many educational versions to schools with contributions made for this purpose. Completion of these versions is a testimony of the Ukrainian diaspora’s commitment, relentlessly continuing the work to research and document genocide against the Ukrainian nation.”
To order the newly released Ukrainian educational version “Okradena Zemlya,” or other versions, readers may e-mail [email protected] or call 514-481-5871.