The Sosnytska hromada of the Chernihiv Oblast has twice held the Youth Film and Art Festival, attracting funds from the Ministry of Culture.

By Dmytro Synyak

 

The house, where Oleksandr Dovzhenko grew up

We are standing near Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s house. This is exactly where the famous Ukrainian Soviet writer, film director, scriptwriter, artist and classic of world cinema was born.

There are three of us on a spacious meadow: me, Andriy Tkach, head of the economic development, trade and investments department of the Sosnytska AH, and bronze Oleksandr Dovzhenko.

Andriy Tkach, head of the economic development, trade and investments department of the Sosnytska AH, and Andriy Portnyi, head of the Sosnytska hromada

“Oleksandr Dovzhenko is really a very controversial figure,” says Andriy Tkach. “He really conceded a lot to the Soviet regime, but not less suffered from it. At the same time, he was a notable figure of his time, and above all a talented artist known to the whole world. And practically all his work is imbued with love for Ukrainians and Ukrainian land. Our hromada is fortunate enough that Dovzhenko was born here. He is our wealth...”

I find out that on 20 July 2019 the museum-estate of Oleksandr Dovzhenko in the Sosnytsia village will hold a “Kapelyush” film festival with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, State Theater and Entertainment Agency and the Art Residence of Oleksandr Dovzhenko.

 

Another house of Oleksandr Dovzhenko, also part of Dovzhenko’s museum

“How did we manage to make the all-Ukrainian Film Festival? We really wanted it to happen!” Andriy calmly answers. “First, at the expense of the village council, we organised a “still-frame” film competition, which was a real success, and later decided to develop it. For this purpose, we started looking for talented boys and girls, asking them to shoot something for the festival, any video or photo. The youth film festival of cinema and art takes place only for the second consecutive year, and we already have 17 full-fledged contest works! And we receive them from the whole Chernihiv Oblast, as well as from the Kharkiv Oblast and from Kyiv. And this year we had about 500 spectators even despite the fact that there are only 10 thousand residents in out hromada. That is Dovzhenko’s brand in action!”

 

Andriy Tkach shows how small the festival was at first

“In the first competition the victory was gained by Oleksii Dzhyma, a guy with hearing impairments from a local boarding school,” Andriy Tkach proceeds. “He presented a very strong comedy work.”

“The most difficult thing concerned the judges, since very few media personalities were ready to cooperate with our hromada on a volunteer basis,” says Andriy Tkach. “A chance acquaintance helped.”

However, it was clear that without serious funding, nothing more or less noticeable could be organised. Therefore, the Sosnytsia Village Council, with the help of the Regional Development Agency of the Chernihiv Oblast and the Chernihiv Local Government Development Centre, took part in the competition of the Ministry of Culture “Small Cities – Great Impressions” in the spring of this year. And won in it.

Now, according to the project, submitted by the Sosnytska AH, the state should allocate UAH 246 thousand to them for creation of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s Art Residence.

“We want to create a certain artistic hub that would attract famous personalities to Sosnytsia and operate as a creative centre,” he says. “That is, the Dovzhenko’s museum should soon host a creative laboratory, and a club of film-makers.”

Andriy Tkach shows one of the photo zones of the Sosnytsia Film Festival

Video clips shot and edited during the festival day by Sosnytsia children:

 

 

 

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE