Ukrainian Cinema Day-2024: History of the Holiday and Interesting Facts.

Today, September 14, Ukrainian Cinema Day is celebrated. This holiday is an important event in the cultural life of the country. "Glavkom" has prepared for you the history of the foundation of this holiday, interesting facts, and the most popular films of Ukraine.

When is Ukrainian Cinema Day celebrated?

Every year, Ukrainian Cinema Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of September. In 2024, this date fell on September 14. The decree "On Ukrainian Cinema Day" was signed on January 12, 1996, by the second president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma.

"To establish in Ukraine a professional holiday for cinematography workers - Ukrainian Cinema Day, which is to be celebrated annually on the second Saturday of September," the decree states.

History of Ukrainian Cinema

In September 1896, the first filming in Ukraine took place in Kharkiv. Renowned photographer Alfred Fedetsky shot several documentary plots, and in December of the same year organized the first Ukrainian film screening, which took place at the Kharkiv Opera House.

Some believe that the history of Ukrainian cinema began in 1893. Yosyp Tymchenko, a mechanic at Odessa University, developed devices for filming and projecting movies. It's important to note that his invention appeared three months earlier than Edison's device and more than a year ahead of the Lumière brothers.

The first film screenings in Ukraine took place in Odessa, Kharkiv, and Lviv. After the success of documentary chronicles, feature films began to be shot. The first Ukrainian feature film "Zaporizhian Sich" was shot by Danylo Sakhnenko in 1911. The film narrated the events during the Time of chief Ivan Sirko in the mid-17th century.

In the pre-revolutionary period, cinema became home to many outstanding Ukrainian actors, including Vera Kholodna, the true "queen of the screen" of that time, who was born in Poltava and actively filmed in Odessa.

August 1918, when Ukraine declared independence, became an important stage for Ukrainian cinematography. Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi issued a decree on the ukrainization of the film industry, and based on it, the first Ukrainian state film company "Ukrainfilm" was created. However, this fact was long silenced due to the Soviet occupation, and Ukrainian researchers learned about the existence of "Ukrainfilm" only after Ukraine regained independence in 1991.

In 1922, the All-Ukrainian Photo and Cinema Administration was founded, which restored film enterprises in Odessa and Yalta. In 1928, a new film studio was opened in Kyiv, which later became the Kyiv Film Studio named after Oleksandr Dovzhenko. During this period, several silent films were made, including Oleksandr Dovzhenko's "Earth," which became a cult film of its time.

Oleksandr Dovzhenko was an outstanding filmmaker who combined elements of philosophy, journalism, and poetry in his work. His innovative films, such as "Zvenyhora" (1928) and "Earth" (1930), laid the foundations for a direction known as "Ukrainian poetic cinema," and raised Ukrainian cinematography to a global level.

Interesting Facts About Ukrainian Cinema

1. The first film screening in Ukraine took place in 1896 through the efforts of renowned photographer Alfred Fedetsky. The frames that the public saw consisted of simple plots - these were short sketches of street life in Kharkiv.
2. The first silent movie in Ukraine, filmed in 1911, was called "Zaporizhian Sich." In 1927, the first Ukrainian animated film "Tale of the Straw Bull" was released, created based on a folk tale that has not survived to this day.
3. In 1928, the first film studio was opened in Kyiv. Two years later, in 1930, the world saw one of the greatest films - "Earth" by Oleksandr Dovzhenko.
4. For a long time, Ukrainian films, like cinema in general, were silent. Only in 1930 did the first sound film "Enthusiasm. Symphony of Donbas" by director Dziga Vertov was released. This film greatly impressed Charlie Chaplin, who called it a "sound-vision symphony."
5. In 1964, one of the most famous Ukrainian films - "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" by Sergei Parajanov was released. It received 39 international awards and 28 prizes at various film festivals around the world.
6. The animated film about three Cossacks, particularly the series "How the Cossacks Played Football," released in 1967, became one of the viewers' favorites. By the way, "Dynamo" players watched this cartoon before important matches, believing that it brought good luck.
7. Since 1997, Ukrainian films have been regularly nominated for an Oscar. In 2024, "20 Days in Mariupol" directed by Mstyslav Chernov received the first Oscar for Ukraine in the category "Best Documentary Film."
8. The first Ukrainian TV series titled "Tsarivna," based on the eponymous story by Olha Kobylianska, was released in 1994. It consisted of 20 episodes.

Most Popular Ukrainian Films

"Homeward" (2019)

This film tells the story of a Crimean Tatar family - father and