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21 June 2010 18:38

Silent Nights: Ukrainian Silent festival of silent films held in Odesa

June 18, 2010, the Art Center in Odesa hosted the opening ceremony of the Silent Nights: Ukrainian Silent festival of silent films and contemporary Ukrainian music. The Ukrainian Silent project by Ivan and Yuri Lyps Charitable Foundation was among the finalists of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation’s program to support small art and cultural projects launched in 2008.

Among the participants of the ceremony were renowned cinema critics Lubomir Goesyko (France), Justina Jablonska (Poland). Also present were representatives of local authorities, cultural centers of various countries, musicians, and cinemaple.

Head of the Supervisory Board of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation Kateryna Yushchenko sent a letter of greetings to the festival participants and guests. “When our program to support small art and cultural projects received an application from the Ukrainian Silent project by Ivan and Yuri Lyps Charitable Foundation, we immediately took notice of it. The idea to combine silent movies from the early 20th century with contemporary Ukrainian music is very attractive and unique. I am glad that the project entered the list of our program’s finalists. I am certain that your festival will draw public attention to Ukrainian cinematographers’ considerable contribution into the history of the world cinema, covering the underservedly forgotten chapters of the history of our cinema and bringing back home the names of Ukrainian actors and directors who worked outside their country,” the letter reads. It was read out by Ukraine 3000 Foundation member Dariya Kapinus.

The festival took place June 19-20 at the Marine Art Terminal. Along with films produced in Ukraine in 1910s-1920s, it presented classic foreign movies featuring Ukrainian actors. The first day’s program (Muteness) included well-known Ukrainian silent movies by directors Dovzhenko, Vertov, Tasin, which had become part of the global cultural treasure trove, influencing the formation of a universal cinema language and the development of world cinema/ The second day (Silence) featured foreign silent classics, less known in Ukraine, with the participation of Ukrainian-born actors and directors: Anna Sten, Stepan Khmara, Eugene Deslav, and Maya Deren. Soundtracks for the movies were created by renowned Ukrainian and international musicians: V-Trio (Odesa), Nadto sonna [Too Sleepy] (Kyiv), SchockolaD (Lviv), Areseniy Trofim (St. Petersburg, Russia), Yuri Kuznietsov (Odesa).