Mykolaichuk OPEN Film Festival to Showcase Retrospective for the 90th Anniversary of Director Yuri Illienko

The Mykolaichuk OPEN film festival, taking place in Chernivtsi, is set to present a major retrospective honoring the 90th anniversary of the distinguished Ukrainian director and cinematographer Yuri Illienko. This announcement was made by the festival organizers in a press release obtained by Ukrinform.

The retrospective, titled 'Yuri Illienko: 90 Years Against All Odds,' aims to reveal Illienko's work from a new, lesser-known perspective. Famous for his cinematography in the film 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' and for directing poetic cinema, particularly the masterpiece 'The White Bird with a Black Mark,' Illienko also created the epic film 'Prayer for Hetman Mazepa,' which is currently banned from screening in Ukraine. The organizers emphasize that through this retrospective, audiences will have the opportunity to explore Illienko not only as a director but also as a skilled painter and creator of art genre cinema.

An exhibition of Yuri Illienko's paintings and artifacts related to his work will commence on April 27 and continue until June 27 at the Ivan Mykolaichuk Cultural and Artistic Center. This marks the first major exhibition of the artist's works since 1999, featuring over 20 exhibits that have not been accessible to the general public before.

The opening of the exhibition is scheduled for April 27 at 5:00 PM, with the attendance of Yuri Illienko's son, Pylyp. He noted that this exhibition is a significant event for him personally. 'My father's paintings appeared during a time when there were no opportunities to shoot films. And there were many pauses, because if you count how many films were made during his lifetime, it turns out to be not that many. All the exhibits are quite diverse, and they can be divided into several categories,' said Pylyp Illienko.

He also added that part of the works is connected to the family, including many portraits of his mother, Lyudmila Yefimenko, who was not only Yuri's wife but also his creative partner. Pylyp specifically highlighted the religious themes that emerged in his father's work during the 1990s. 'My father had a period of painting icons in various techniques and styles,' he noted.

In addition to the exhibition, the retrospective will feature film screenings that will unveil new facets of Yuri Illienko's creativity as a genre director. The program includes four films: 'Evening on Ivan Kupala' (folk horror), 'A Well for the Thirsty' (film parable), 'Forest Song. Mavka' (fantasy), and 'Swan Lake. Zone' (prison drama).

'Yuri Illienko is one of the key figures in poetic cinema, alongside Parajanov and Ivan Mykolaichuk. We are making an attempt to look at his cinematic legacy differently and to present it from another angle. An angle that could become a source of tradition for contemporary Ukrainian genre cinema and an approach that is currently in trend,' emphasized the program director of Mykolaichuk OPEN, Alex Malyshenko.

As part of the retrospective, lectures and special events dedicated to Yuri Illienko's work are also planned. One such event will be the presentation of a recording of his conversation with Serhiy Parajanov, focusing on the creativity of Ivan Mykolaichuk.

The painting exhibition of Yuri Illienko will open on April 27 at 5:00 PM at the Ivan Mykolaichuk Cultural and Artistic Center in Chernivtsi, located at 140 Holovna Street. It will run until June 27, operating from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM (except Mondays and Tuesdays). Admission to the exhibition will be free.

The Mykolaichuk OPEN audience film festival will take place in Chernivtsi from June 13 to June 20. As reported by Ukrinform, an exhibition by Angelika Rudnitskaya titled 'Easter Garden' has opened in Kyiv.

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