Ukrainian cinema is the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Ukraine as well as by Ukrainian film makers abroad.
Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry has often been characterized by a debate about its identity and the level of Russian and European influence. Ukrainian producers are active in international co-productions, while Ukrainian actors, directors and crew feature regularly in Russian (and formerly Soviet) films. Successful films have been based on Ukrainian people, stories or events, including Battleship Potemkin, Man with a Movie Camera, and Everything Is Illuminated.
The Ukrainian State Film Agency owns National Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Centre, film copying laboratory and archive, and takes part in hosting the Odesa International Film Festival. Another festival, Molodist in Kyiv, is the only FIAPF accredited International Film Festival held in Ukraine; the competition program has sections for student films, first short films, and first full feature films from all over the world. It is held during the month of October every year.
Ukraine has had an influence on the history of the cinema. Ukrainian directors Alexander Dovzhenko, often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, as well as being a pioneer of Soviet montage theory, Dovzhenko Film Studios, and Sergei Parajanov, Armenian film director and artist who made significant contributions to Ukrainian, Armenian and Georgian cinema. He invented his own cinematic style, Ukrainian poetic cinema, which was totally out of step with the guiding principles of socialist realism.
Other important directors including Kira Muratova, Sergei Loznitsa, Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi, Larisa Shepitko, Sergei Bondarchuk, Leonid Bykov, Yuri Ilyenko, Leonid Osyka, Ihor Podolchak with his Delirium and Maryna Vroda. Many Ukrainian actors have achieved international fame and critical success, including: Vera Kholodnaya, Bohdan Stupka, Eugene Hütz, Milla Jovovich, Olga Kurylenko, Mila Kunis, Mark Ivanir.
On 10 March 2024, creators of the documentary film 20 Days in Mariupol were awarded with the Oscar in the category "Best Documentary Feature Film," the first Oscar in Ukraine's history.
History of the cinema in Ukraine Beginnings
Ukrainian engineer Joseph Timchenko, a native of Kharkov Governorate ruled at the time by the Russian Empire, was the inventor of an early cinematographic device, which he first demonstrated during his work at Odessa University in November 1893. In 1896 Lumière brothers' cinematograph was brought to Odesa, presenting French-made short films. During the following year, Kharkiv photographer Alfred Fedetsky issued several films of his own production.
During the early 20th century, film studios organized in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and several other cities started producing movies dedicated to native Ukrainian themes. One of the pioneers of early Ukrainian cinema was Danylo Sakhnenko, who created the first full-length Ukrainian film in 1911. During the same year, theatrical performances based on plays by Ivan Tobilevych and Ivan Kotliarevsky and starring Mykola Sadovskyi, Maria Zankovetska and several other prominent Ukrainian actors were recorded on film in Katerynoslav.
Revolution and beginning of Soviet rule
During the Ukrainian Revolution, the development of Ukrainian cinema almost ground to a halt, although several documentaries were created by the Ukrainifilm company under the Ukrainian State. Following the Bolshevik occupation, all cinema studios were nationalized and in 1922 united into the All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration (VUFKU) subordinated to the People's Commissariat of Education. Two film studios ("cinema factories") were established in Yalta and Odesa. In 1929 the Kyiv Cinema Factory was established as the biggest enterprise of the VUFKU.
1920s saw the most productive period in the history of Ukrainian cinema. The number of films produced in Ukraine grew from only 4 in 1923 to 36 in 1928, with the number of cinema industry employees increasing from 47 in 1923 to over 1,000 in 1929. Notable directors working in Ukraine during that time were Pyotr Chardynin, Vladimir Gardin, Georgi Stabovoi, Georgi Tasin, Dziga Vertov, Faust Lopatynsky, Marko Tereshchenko, Oleksandr Dovzhenko and Ivan Kavaleridze. A number of renowned Ukrainian authors of that period, such as Mykola Bazhan, Yuriy Yanovskyi, Hryhoriy Epik, Dmytro Falkivskyi and Oles Dosvitniy worked as screenwriters. Among Ukrainian actors who rose to fame during that era were Amvrosiy Buchma and Natalia Uzhviy.
The highest achievement of Ukrainian cinema was Oleksandr Dovzhenko's trilogy consisting of the films Zvenyhora (1928), Arsenal (1929) and Earth (1930).
Stalin era
In 1930 VUFKU was disbanded and transformed into Ukrainfilm, which eventually became directly subordinate to Moscow. In 1933 the biweekly magazine Kino was closed down. Odesa Film Studios was de-facto turned into a branch of Moscow and Leningrad Film Studios, meanwhile Yalta Film Studios was directly transferred to the ownership of Russian cinema organizations. During the 1930s many Ukrainian directors were eliminated or forced to abandon their activity, while others had to subject themselves to ideological demands of authorities. Dovzhenko himself left for Moscow, where he worked for Mosfilm.
The 1930s saw a significant decrease in the number of films produced in Ukraine. New movies were created exclusively on the base of works by loyalist authors, such as Oleksandr Korniychuk, or classical literature. Among notable Soviet Ukrainian films of that time were Natalka Poltavka (1936) by Ivan Kavaleridze, Shchors (1939) by Oleksandr Dovzhenko and Bohdan Khmelnytsky (1941) by Ihor Savchenko.
Due to the Second World War, production of feature films in Ukraine practically ceased, with resources being directed to the creation of film propaganda and finishing previously started movies. Until the end of the war, film adaptations, usually dedicated to war topics, dominated the industry. The postwar period saw increasing Russification in the spirit of Zhdanov Doctrine, and the number of annually produced films remained low. One of the few notable Ukrainian cinematographic works of that time was Savchenko's Taras Shevchenko, starring Serhiy Bondarchuk.
Post-Stalin period
Starting from 1955, a revival of Ukrainian cinema started with the expansion of Kyiv and Odesa Studios. In 1957 Yalta Film Studios was once again incorporated into the structure of Ukrainian filmmaking industry. Most films were created in the spirit of Soviet official ideology and propaganda, and Russificatory trends continued. Between 1950 and 1958 the number of visitors in Ukrainian cinema theatres had increased threefold. In 1958, 109 titles of films were created in Ukraine.
During the 1960s, previously established trends continued in Ukrainian cinema, with most films of that period being screen adaptations. Among notable works of that time were Ivanna (1960) by Viktor Ivchenko; Chasing Two Hares (1961) by Viktor Ivanov, based on a play by Mykhailo Starytsky; Whore (1961) by Ivan Kavaleridze, after a story by Panas Myrny; Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964) by Sergei Parajanov, based on a novel by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky; A Spring for the Thirsty (1965) by Yuriy Illyenko (banned by censors). This decade became known for the phenomenon of "Ukrainian poetic cinema".
During the 1970s most films created in Ukraine were dedicated to the October Revolution of 1917, Second World War and Soviet partisan movement, industrial achievements of the Soviet Union and life of collective farms. As before, many films were adaptations of classical literary works. The new generation of Ukrainian filmmakers was represented by Yuriy Illyenko, known for his direction of The White Bird Marked with Black (1972), and Ivan Mykolaichuk, whose most famous film was Babylon XX (1979). Kyiv Studio of Popular Science Films created a number of historical movies. Many films of the "poetic cinema" movement were banned or limited in screening during the 1970s. Among notable war films issued during that period was Leonid Bykov's One-Two, Soldiers Were Going... (1977).
The last decade of Soviet Union's existence was represented in Ukrainian cinema by the work of Roman Balayan, whose film Flights in Dreams and Reality achieved widespread fame.
Films of Ukrainian SSR by ticket sales
Ukrainian title English title Year Tickets sold (millions) E.A. — Extraordinary Accident 1959 47.5 Only Old Men Are Going to Battle 1973 44.3 Far from the Motherland 1960 42.0 Marina's Destiny 1954 37.9 Secret Agent 1947 22.73
Modern Ukrainian cinema
Among Ukrainian filmmakers who rose to prominence during the 1990s were Villen Novak and Mykhailo Illyenko. In 1994 Dovzhenko Centre, Ukraine's biggest film archive was established. In 1997 Viacheslav Kryshtofovych's film A Friend of the Deceased became the first Ukrainian work to be nominated for Oscars. In 1998 Ukraine's first movie theatre to be equipped according to modern technological demands was opened. Following Ukraine's independence, a number of films presenting parts of the country's history previously obscured by Soviet propaganda appeared, most notably The Undefeated by Oles Yanchuk, dedicated to the activities of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
During the first two decades of Ukrainian independence, the country's cinema industry experienced a severe decline due to lack of government support and inefficient allocation of budgets. The situation started to change in 2012, as Mykhailo Illyenko's film Firecrosser became the first Ukrainian movie to gather over $200,000 in distribution. This achievement produced a new interest for Ukrainian filmmaking and contributed to the emergence of new works in different genres. In 2012, the gross turnover of Ukrainian movie theatres exceeded $100,000,000. After the annexation of Crimea, Yalta Film Studios was appropriated by Russian authorities.
A significant brekthrough for Ukrainian filmmaking was the international success of Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi's film The Tribe (2014). Among Ukrainian directors whose works received critical acclaim on the global stage in recent years are Sergei Loznitsa, Nariman Aliev, Antonio LukichValentyn Vasianovych, Iryna Tsilyk and Anatoliy Lavrenishyn. In 2024 Mstyslav Chernov's documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, dedicated to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. As a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the turnover of Ukrainian movie theatres decreased from $114,000,000 in 2019 to $37,000,000 in 2022. Despite this, during the first eight months of 2023 Ukrainian filmmakers managed to increase their incomes in comparison to 2019, with the share of national product reaching 21% of all films in distribution.
Notable film directors and actors
Prominent Ukrainian directors include Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Dziga Vertov and Serhiy Paradzhanov. Dovzhenko is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, as well as being a pioneer of Soviet montage theory and founding Dovzhenko Film Studios. In 1927, Dziga Vertov moved from Moscow to Ukraine. At the film studio VUFKU he made several avant-garde documentaries, among them The Eleventh Year, Man with a Movie Camera and first Ukrainian documentary sound film Enthusiasm (Symphony of the Donbass). Paradzhanov was an Armenian film director and artist who made significant contributions to Ukrainian, Armenian and Georgian cinema; he invented his own cinematic style, Ukrainian poetic cinema, which was totally out of step with the guiding principles of socialist realism. Many actors of Ukrainian origin have achieved international fame and critical success, including Vira Kholodna, Bohdan Stupka, Sergei Makovetsky, Mike Mazurki, Natalie Wood, Danny Kaye, Jack Palance, Milla Jovovich, Olga Kurylenko and Mila Kunis.
Museums