Open City Docs and Frontline Club present Documenting Ukraine, two days of cinema and debate, special events and Q&A discussions exploring the realities of modern Ukraine and the depth of Ukrainian cinema, on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2015 at London’s Frontline Club.
In collaboration with our partners openDemocracy Russia and beyond and Docudays UA, we are delighted to give audiences the chance to see a rich programme of Ukrainian documentary premieres and films rarely seen in UK cinemas, from the international premiere of a new score of Dziga Vertov’s silent 1928 documentary The Eleventh Year performed live, to a work-in-progress screening of Askold Kurov’s urgent film about the imprisonment of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.
The weekend’s events bring together Ukrainian and British filmmakers and experts to explore the intersection of cinema, culture and politics in Ukraine, with films and discussions examining the Maidan protests that brought about the downfall of President Yanukovych’s regime in 2014 and recent conflict in Donbass, as well as reflecting on Ukraine’s longer history and relationship with the Soviet Union. Please see below for details of the full weekend schedule.
Book your tickets now through the Frontline Club website.
Saturday 16 May
12:00 - Ukraine: When the Countdown Began (90') - UK premiere
A complex and comprehensively sourced documentary about the emergence of an independent Ukraine from the ruins of the USSR in 1991 with interviews with all the major players including Leonid Kravchuk, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Gennadiy Burbulis, Levko Lukyanenko and James Baker.
14:00 - Release Oleg Sentsov (20') with Agnieszka Holland in person and Askold Kurov via Skype - UK premiere
A work in progress screening of Askold Kurov’s documentary about Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov facing 20 years in a Russian prison followed by a discussion about the campaign to end the illegal detention of Sentsov. Screening and discussion in partnership with European Film Academy.
15:00 - Double-bill: Tomorrow is a Holiday (26') & Mum Died on Saturday in the Kitchen (52’) plus discussion with Agnieszka Holland and JJ Gurga (TBC) + others to be announced - UK premieres
Serhiy Bukovsky’s subversive 1987 documentary about a Soviet factory, followed by Maxym Vasyanovych’s tender portrait of his family in the Ukrainian SSR. Followed by a Q&A exploring Ukrainian cinema since 1986.
17:45 - Maidan Shorts (26’) plus discussion - UK premiere
A special screening of shorts and clips reflecting on the Euromaidan movement in Ukraine, followed by a discussion with filmmakers and academics Roman Bondarchuk, Darya Bassel, Serhiy Buchovsky, Rory Finnin and Olesya Khromeychuk.
19:30 - Reception and sale of photographic prints by Aleksander Glyadelov
A selection of compelling photographs by Aleksander Glyadelov from Maidan last year and from the fighting in the east of Ukraine in 2015.
Sunday 17 May
14:00 - The Donetsk People's Republic, Or The Curious Tale of the Handmade Country (53’) plus discussion - UK premiere
This is an unfiltered, fly-on-the-wall account of how the Donetsk People’s Republic came into being, filmed with astonishing access from May to April 2014, followed by a discussion with Anthony Butts, Nataliya Gumenyuk, Andrew Wilson, Oliver Carroll (TBC) and Orysia Lutsevych.
16:30 - Crepuscule (61') plus Q&A with director Valentyn Vasyanovych & Andy Hunder - UK premiere
Valentyn Vasyanovych joins us to present his acclaimed documentary about a mother and son living in a remote province of Ukraine.
18:30 - The Eleventh Year (52') plus introduction by Dr Phil Cavendish - International premiere of live score
Dziga Vertov’s silent documentary, digitally remastered with a live score performed by Anton Baibakov including the UK premiere of the film’s recently discovered animation trailer.
