Retrospective Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of Yuriy Illienko: Film Screenings and Art Exhibition

The Mykolaichuk OPEN Film Festival, in collaboration with the Ivan Mykolaichuk Cultural and Artistic Center, is set to host a unique retrospective honoring the 90th anniversary of the distinguished Ukrainian director and cinematographer Yuriy Illienko. This event is expected to become a pivotal moment in the cultural landscape of Ukraine, as it will include screenings of landmark films, an exhibition of paintings, and special events dedicated to the friendship between Illienko and Ivan Mykolaichuk.

Yuriy Illienko, best known for his work on Sergei Parajanov's film 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,' has left a profound mark on Ukrainian cinema. His two most famous directorial works are the poetic cinema masterpiece 'The White Bird Marked with a Black Sign' and the film 'Prayer for Hetman Mazepa,' which was banned from screening in Ukraine due to the involvement of a Russian actor. The retrospective titled 'Yuriy Illienko: 90 Years Against All Odds' will allow audiences to explore the artist's work from lesser-known angles, highlighting his paintings and art-house genre cinema.

The event will kick off on April 27 and run until June 27 at the Ivan Mykolaichuk Cultural and Artistic Center in Chernivtsi. Within the framework of the retrospective, the first exhibition of Yuriy Illienko's paintings in 25 years will take place, alongside artifacts related to his creative legacy. The exhibition will feature over 20 exhibits that have not been previously accessible to the public, including icons that Illienko became passionate about in the 1990s.

Yuriy Illienko's son, producer and former head of the State Film Agency of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, Pylyp Illienko, shared his thoughts on the exhibition: 'This exhibition is a very significant event for me. My father was and remains an incredibly important figure in my life, and I consider it part of my mission to spread, popularize, and preserve his creative heritage. My father's paintings emerged during periods when there were no opportunities to make films. And there were quite a few pauses, as if we count how many films were made during his lifetime, it turns out not to be so many.'

The retrospective will also showcase four films that demonstrate various aspects of Yuriy Illienko's creativity. Mykolaichuk OPEN's program director, Oleksandr Malyshenko, noted: 'Yuriy Illienko is one of the key figures in poetic cinema, alongside Parajanov and Ivan Mykolaichuk. We are making an effort to view his cinematic legacy differently and present it from another angle. An angle that could serve as a source of tradition for contemporary Ukrainian genre cinema and an approach that is currently trending. After all, it is precisely auteur genre films that have performed well in recent years at the box office and have become sensations at the Oscars and other awards.'

In addition to film screenings, the retrospective will feature lectures and special events dedicated to Yuriy Illienko's work. One such event will be the presentation of a recorded conversation between Yuriy Illienko and Sergei Parajanov, which will focus on the creativity of Ivan Mykolaichuk. The Mykolaichuk OPEN audience film festival will take place from June 13 to June 20 in Chernivtsi.

Yuriy Illienko was born on May 9, 1936, and passed away on June 15, 2010, at the age of 73. His legacy continues to live on in the hearts of Ukrainian cinema enthusiasts, and this retrospective will provide yet another opportunity to pay tribute to this remarkable artist.