Youth ethnic film festival to take place in Chernivtsi

Active artistic youth from Chernivtsi has established a youth ethnic film festival to mark the 70th anniversary of Ukrainian cult artist Ivan Mykolaichuk’s birth. “The main objective of the festival is to bring the attention of young filmmakers to the traditions and culture of the Ukrainian people,” says the head organizer of the festival, young writer and journalist Lesia Voroniuk. “Mykolaichuk recorded a vast layer of the Bukovyna Ukrainians’ culture, as no filmmaker did as loyally and delicately, either before or after his work.” According to Cinemaethnics’ organizers, the problems of Ukrainian cinema are multifaceted. It is not just that we have too few Ukrainian films, these films are covering wrong topics, too. Young artists often make films on love, the life of homeless, single-sex relationships, drugs and death, but rarely create something kind and patriotic. The festival’s winners will be named in the categories Best Fiction Film, Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature, Best Personal Story (about a Ukrainian who deserves to be honored), and the special category Audience Choice Award. The festival will be held in Chernivtsi June 15 through June 16, concurrently with the celebrations of Mykolaichuk’s 70th anniversary. Organizers hope their brainchild will become event of national importance over time.