Degrees of Freedom
Friday, 29. 9. 2023 at 12.00 / Vetrinj mansion, big hall
Curated by Oleg Olifer and Alona Penzii
Presented by The Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre (Dovzhenko Centre) (UKR) with the support of the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival in Kyiv (UKR).
Introduced by Oleg Olifer (film expert, Dovzhenko Center) and Anastasiia Kanivets (author of the book “Ukrainian Animation”, 2018).
Screening organized in cooperation with Slovenska kinoteka
The special program curated by Dovzhenko Centre will expose a wide range of Ukrainian animated films - an immersive journey through the world of censorship, propaganda which Ukrainian artists comply and fight with.
There was a stereotypical view among the Soviet nomenclature that animation is children's apolitical art. Still the state often interfered in the studio's creative plan, forcing animators to execute certain propaganda orders every year. At the same time artists were finding their ways to talk about important topics, disguising them as stories for kids or parables for adults.
Perestroika and glasnost in the late 1980s allowed authors to be free in their expressions, however, anyway the degrees of freedom was determined by the state.
Dovzhenko Centre was founded in 1994 on the basis of the largestet Ukrainian film printing factory (founded in 1948). Today it is one of the most dynamic cultural institutions in Ukraine with an extensive collection that includes 7,000 feature films, documentaries, Ukrainian and foreign animated films and thousands of archival records from the history of Ukrainian cinema.
Trigger warnings: military, Nazi symbols, Soviet symbols, sound of air alarm, image of a cemetery, skeletons, blood
1.
The Dearest Drawing / Найдорожчий малюнок (Naydorozhchyy malyunok)
Yefrem Pruzhanskyi (Kyivnaukfilm)
1975, USSR (Ukraine), 5'54''
A story about a brave boy who made a great sacrifice for the greater good. It is a prime example of direct propaganda, showcasing the triumph of Soviet ideology which expected and demanded sacrifices even from children.
Yefrem Avramovich Pruzhanskyi (May 6, 1930 - November 21, 1995) was a Ukrainian director, screenwriter and artist. He graduated from Kyiv Engineering and Construction Institute in 1955 and worked as an architect and artist. In 1964, he began working as an animator, and in 1968 — as a director in the Creative Association of Artistic Animation of the "Kyivnaukfilm" studio. Among his most famous creations are the animated miniseries "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass" (1981-1982). To this day, these films are considered among the best screen adaptations of Lewis Carroll.
2.
Mars XX / Марс ХХ
Iryna Hurvych (Kyivnaukfilm)
1969, USSR (Ukraine), 8'10''
The mad scientist has invented a new weapon of mass destruction and offered it to the god of war. The visual style of the film, created by artist Henrykh Umanskyi, evokes the films of German expressionist cinema of the 1920s, particularly the legendary film ""The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"" (1920).
Iryna Hurvych (June 30, 1911 - March 30, 1995) - an outstanding Ukrainian director and artistic director of the Creative Association of Artistic Animation at the studio "Kyivnaukfilm". She graduated from Kyiv Art Institute. Iryna Hurvych, together with Ippolit Lazarchuk and Nina Vasylenko, built a bridge between the artistic culture of the 1920s and 30s and the post-war years. They resumed work with animation at the popular science film studio in 1959. Iryna was distinguished by her mentoring talent and brought up a number of gifted animators. In 1960, she invited young architects Volodymyr Dakhn, David Cherkaskyi and Mark Draitsua to work on the first animated film of the Creative Association "The Adventures of Pepper". The creative style of Iryna Hurvych was marked by a constant search; she loved to experiment, expanding the horizons of her colleagues from the artistic sphere. She became the initiator of many technical innovations in the animation art of Ukraine. Iryna Hurvych created 31 short animated films and wrote 9 scripts. In particular, she was honored at the II World Festival of Animated Films in Zagreb (1974, ex-Yugoslavia) for the work "Oh, There Were Women Selling Men Over the Counter in the Bazaar", and she received the Special Jury Prize at the International Film Festival of Animated Films in New York, USA.
3.
Columbus Reaches the Shore / Колумб причалює до берега (Kolumb prychalyuye do bereha)
Davyd Cherkaskyi (Kyivnaukfilm)
1967, USSR (Ukraine), 17'10''
Columbus docks in the 20th century. On this new shore, the eccentric from the 15th century encounters a bustling metropolis in the midst of a heated pre-election campaign between two rival parties: the Narrow-minded and the Broad-minded. Based on the eponymous story by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov.
Davyd Cherkaskyi (August 23, 1931 - October 30, 2018) is a Ukrainian animation director, animator and screenwriter. He was awarded a number of state awards for his work, in particular, the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine in 1995 and the title of People's Artist of Ukraine in 2010. Cherkaskyi graduated from Kyiv Engineering and Construction Institute (KIBI) in 1955. Starting from 1964, he started working in the Creative association of artistic animation "Kyivnaukfilm". Known for his absurd grotesque animated films and series, such as "The Adventures of Captain Vrungel" (1981), "Treasure Island" (1988), "Doctor Aibolit" (1984). He worked in various animation techniques, boldly combining hand-drawn animation with live-action filmmaking. He was also the president of the International Festival of Animated Films "KROK".
4.
Why the Rooster Has Short Trousers / Чому у півня короткі штанці (Chomu u pivnya korotki shtantsi)
Ipolyt Lazarchuk (Kyivnaukfilm)
1966, USSR (Ukraine), 9'18''
The Rooster went to the holiday fair and bought pants from the fox. However, their size did not suit him, so they had to be shortened. An exciting film with folklore and comic motifs.
Ipolit Andronykovich Lazarchuk (August 13, 1903 - February 23, 1979) is a Ukrainian film artist. Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1967). Lazarchuk was a pioneer of Ukrainian animation. He began his creative journey back in the 1930s and created such films as "Took-Took and his friend Beetle" (1935), "The Arrogant Chicken" (1936), "The Forest Contract" (1937 , in co-authorship) is the first color animated Ukrainian film. In the second half of the 1940s and in the 1950s, he worked in the field of technical animation. In 1959, together with Iryna Hurvych and Nina Vasylenko, he founded the Creative Association of Artistic Animation at the "Kyivnaukfilm" studio, which he himself headed for a long time. Ippolit Lazarchuk was not only an outstanding administrator who raised the Creative Association to a leading position among other studios of the Soviet Union, but also a mentor for many Ukrainian animators, in particular Yevhen Syvokin.
5.
Castling (Idleness) / Рокіровка (Лінощі) (Rokirovka [Linoshchi))
Yevhen Syvokin (Kyivnaukfilm)
1979, USSR (Ukraine), 6'32''
One decent citizen was having lunch and indifferently looking at the fish in his aquarium. But suddenly a real monster emerged from the muddy water. However, his unwillingness to strain even to save his own life led the hero to slavery. Or maybe nothing has really changed in his life?
Yevgeny Yakovych Syvokin (born May 7, 1937, Kyiv) is a Soviet and Ukrainian director of animated films awarded at many international festivals. He graduated from the Graphic Faculty at the National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture in Kyiv (1965). Since 1960 he has worked in the department for artistic animation at Kyïvnaukfil′m. As an animation director he debuted in 1966. Yevhen Syvokin is a teacher of a whole galaxy of animators, in particular the most famous modern Ukrainian animator Stepan Koval, who in 2003 received the Silver Bear in Berlin for the film "The Tram Number 9 Went". Sivokin started teaching in the 1970s at the training courses for animators held at the Kyivnaukfilm studio. Among his first students were Oleksandr Tatarskyi and Igor Kovalev, who together filmed the films "Plasticine Crow" and "The Investigation is Led by Kolobki". Since 1993, the director has been teaching at the Kyiv National University named after I. Karpenko-Kary. Animated films made by Syvokin's students often compete with their teacher's works at festivals. Among the director's latest high-profile awards is the prize for the film "Snowy Roads" (2004) as the best-animated film at the International Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand (France) and the fist prize at the International Film Festival in Dervio (Italy).
6.
The King of Tortoise / Король черепах (Korolʹ cherepakh)
Tsezar Orshanskyi (Kyivnaukfilm)
1988, USSR (Ukraine), 9'53''
On Turtle Island, everyone holds the king in high regard. But this lizard-like ruler is unsatisfied with his existing power. He desires even more fame and aims to elevate his throne higher upon the backs of his turtles. Inspired by the works of Dr. Seuss.
Cesar Abramovych Orshanskyi (March 14, 1927 - November 7, 2016) is a Ukrainian director, artist and screenwriter. From 1959, he worked as an artist, and from 1960 - as an assistant director in the Creative Association of Artistic Animation "Kyivnaukfilm". Since 1966, he held the position of director. Orshansky mainly used the technique of "transposition". His last film was an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' fairy tale called "Turtle King", which contained a satirical look at the totalitarian system. After that, in 1991, he emigrated from Ukraine to Israel.
7.
The Truth Close-up / Правда крупним планом (Pravda krupnym planom)
Volodymyr Honcharov (Kyivnaukfilm)
1988, USSR (Ukraine), 8'56''
A sharp satire on the opponents of perestroika, on those who hide behind its slogans, hinder the implementation of new ideas, and fear the truth.
Volodymyr Goncharov (February 9, 1940 – January 14, 2022) is an outstanding Ukrainian director, animator and artist. Honored Artist of Ukraine since 2010. Goncharov was one of the key authors of Ukrainian animation in the 80s. Goncharov began his creative career as an animator in the Creative Association of Artistic Animation of the "Kyivnaukfilm" studio, and then worked as a director and artist on various topics aimed at both adults and children. His works were marked by deep philosophical content, which was often combined with a parable form of narration and a sophisticated artistic style.
8.
Julia's Birthday / День народження Юлії (Denʹ narodzhennya Yuliyi)
Nataliia Marchenkova (Ukrainafilm)
1994, Ukraine, 14'49''
An urban legend about a girl in a search of her lost soul. Yulia's fiancé died tragically. Having grieved a little, Julia decided to marry again. However, the late groom returned for Yulia's soul. This fantastic picture consists of first love, jealousy, and death.
Natalya Marchenkova (June 1, 1948) is an outstanding Ukrainian director and animator. She began her career in animation as an animator. For about 20 years, she brought to life on the screen the heroes of the films of Iryna Hurvych, David Cherkaskyi, Yefrem Pruzhanskyi, Yevhen Syvokony and many others. As a director, Marchenkova is a master of absurd animation, who impresses with her ability to "turn everything upside down" both in the plot and in the frame. Paradoxical humor, musicality and manifestation of atypical relationships in popular mass media themes and motifs - this is what characterizes the work of this author.