The Day of Ukrainian films

It has been established with the Decree of President of Ukraine in 1996 and is celebrated annually on the second Saturday of September.

The first Ukrainian shooting happened in September, 1896 in Kharkov where a photographer Alfred Fedetsky made several newsreel features. In December, Fedetsky arranged the first Ukrainian cinema show in Kharkov Opera theatre.

Acting talent of many popular actors is connected with pre-revolutionary cinema. The queen of screen in those times was Vera Holodnaya who was born in Poltava and featured in Odessa for many times.

In 1922 Ukrainian administration of photography and cinema appeared – it reconstructed enterprises in Odessa and Yalta, and in 1928 Kiev film studios came into life (the prospective Kiev picture factory named after A. Dovzhenko).

In 1930 in Ukraine the first sound film appeared – documentary motion of Dzyga Vertov «Symphony of Donbass».

In recent years, Ukrainian creators established their own outstanding trend in cinema that enriched world cinematography in a good way. In memory, there are names of Aleksander Dovzhenko, Ivan Kavaleridze, Mark Donskoy, Sergii Paradzhanov, Leonid Bykov, Leonid Osyka, Ivan Mykolaychuck, Bohdan Stupka, and other prominent followers.

Recent years have witnessed new generation of Ukrainian cinematography, provided that some movie-makers were awarded with prestigious international grants. In May of the current year, Ukrainian film «The Tribe» directed by Miroslav Slaboshpitsky awarded three premises: Grand Prix, prize of Ghana foundation, and award «Discovery».