Cinema of Ukraine


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 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 Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Centre">Alexander Dovzhenko">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 a 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

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.
One of the pioneers of early Ukrainian cinema was Danylo Sakhnenko, who created the first full-length Ukrainian film in 1911.
On the territory of Odesa Film Studio, there is a Museum of the Cinema, in which you can discover many interesting facts on the history of the cinema in general and history of Ukrainian cinema as a part. Here you can find historic materials, from the invention of cinema, to the postmodern, digital and avant-garde.

Films of Ukrainian SSR by ticket sales

Ukrainian titleEnglish titleYearTickets sold
НП – Надзвичайна пригодаE.A. — Extraordinary Accident195947.5
У бій ідуть лише «старі»Only Old Men Are Going to Battle197344.3
Вдалечінь від батьківщиниFar from the Motherland196042.0
Доля МариниMarina's Destiny195437.9
Подвиг розвідникаSecret Agent194722.73

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 . 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.

Government and civil bodies concerned

This sphere is administrated by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Cinematographers.
The central executive body of cinematography in Ukraine is the Ukrainian State Film Agency. Together with the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, it is the largest investor in Ukrainian cinema and as of 2019 each of these institutions is investing about ₴500 million in Ukrainian film production.

Film studios

State owned

B&H Film Distribution Company is a major Ukrainian film distributor; it is the local distributor of films by Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Ukrainian Film Distribution is the local distributor of films by 20th Century Fox.
VLG.FILM is the local distributor of films by Miramax, StudioCanal, STX Entertainment, A24, Lionsgate, Focus Features International, EuropaCorp, Pathé Exchange, Kinology, Affinity Equity Partners, Exclusive Media Group, TF1 and others.
Kinomania is the local distributor of films by Warner Brothers.
Short films, festival winners and art house are mostly distributed by Arthouse traffic.
The newest website database system for the artists is the

Festivals

Current awards

In 1987, Ukrainian engineer and animator Eugene Mamut together with three colleagues won the Oscar for the design and development of RGA / Oxberry Compu-Quad Special Effects Optical Printer for the movie Predator.
In 2006, Ukrainian engineer and inventor Anatoliy Kokush was awarded two Oscars for the concept and development of the Ukrainian Arm gyro-stabilized camera crane and the Flight Head.

Former awards

AwardCategoryFilm titleYearDirector
OscarBest Documentary Feature Film20 Days in Mariupol2024Mstyslav Chernov
Palme d'OrShort FilmThe Cross 2011Maryna Vroda
Palme d'OrShort FilmPodorozhni 2005Ihor Strembitskyi
Jury Prize Silver Bear at BerlinaleShort FilmIshov tramvai N°9 2003Stepan Koval
Panorama Award of the NYFA at BerlinaleShort FilmTyr 2001Taras Tomenko
FIPRESCI PrizeFIPRESCI AwardLebedyne Ozero - Zona 1990Yuriy Illienko
Award of the Youth at Cannes Film FestivalForeign FilmLebedyne Ozero - Zona 1990Yuriy Illienko

Film dubbing or subtitling in Ukrainian

Film dubbing or subtitling in Ukrainian refers to the dubbing or subtitles of video products in Ukrainian.
In 2010, one third of all films in Ukraine were Russian language subbed. In 2019, a law was passed by the Ukrainian parliament assuring that all movies have dubbing or subtitles in the Ukrainian language. In 2021, Netflix released their first feature film with Ukrainian dubbing. Only 11% of Ukrainians oppose dubbing in films.

Ukrainian dubbing actors

Since the founding of a Ukrainian dubbing in 2006 there was many recognizable voice actors dubbing Ukrainian, among which the most famous are Eugene Maluha and Yuri Kovalenko.
Ukrainian show business stars are also actively involved in dubbing in Ukrainian. A number of famous singers, including Oleg Skrypka and Ani Lorak, took part in the dubbing of the animated film Carlson, who lives on the roof . A number of celebrities worked on the cartoon Terkel and Khalepa : Potap, Oleg Skrypka, Fahot and Fozzy, Foma, Vadim Krasnooky, Katya Chilly, Vitaliy Kozlovsky, Lilu, Vasya Gontarsky, DJ Romeo and Stepan Kazanin. In the cartoon Horton you can hear the voices of showmen Pavel Shilko and Volodymyr Zelenskyy ; Zelenskyy himself contributed to the Ukrainian dubs of Paddington and Paddington 2 among other acting appearances prior to his presidential career. The main characters of the film "13th District: Ultimatum" in the Ukrainian box office spoke in the voices of Yevhen Koshov and Andriy Khlyvnyuk.

Actors

Ukrainian actors

Immigrants from Ukraine were the parents or grandparents of Serge Gainsbourg, Leonard Nimoy, Vera Farmiga, Taissa Farmiga, Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Sylvester Stallone, Kirk Douglas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Winona Ryder, Whoopi Goldberg, Edward Dmytryk, Lenny Kravitz and Zoë Kravitz, illusionist David Copperfield, animator Bill Tytla.

Directors

Ukrainian directors