Film students from the Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television, Alik Darmann and Volodymyr Prylutskiy, have uncovered two Ukrainian films from the 1920s in an archive. It was previously believed that these films were only preserved in Russian archives.

According to the Dovzhenko Centre, the students found the films "Trypillian Tragedy" by Oleksandr Anod-Anochenko from 1926 and "The Secret of Rapid" by Pavlo Dolyna from 1930. Previously, they had discovered the film "Karl Brunner" from 1936.

"These films are duplicates, part of the original materials of the film. From these, positive copies for distribution are printed. This is a unique case because while we can often find positives in other archives, original materials are rarely found. We have already planned to scan these films, so soon they will be available for viewing," said the head of the film archive at the Dovzhenko Centre, Tetiana Derkach.

"Trypillian Tragedy" is considered one of the most significant film discoveries in Ukraine in recent years, explains film expert Oleg Olifer. The film was produced at the Yalta film studio of VUFKU.

The film tells the story of the Trypillia march of the Bolsheviks in 1919, a bloody chapter of the Ukrainian Revolution and Civil War from 1917 to 1921, which became a cornerstone in the history and myth of the communist youth movement in the USSR.

The film is executed in an adventure genre with numerous scenes of shootouts, fights, and battles involving hundreds of extras, cavalry, and artillery. Special emphasis is placed on the brutality of the rebels and their reprisals against the Bolsheviks.

Despite its audience success, the film received poor reviews from filmmakers and critics, who condemned it for its naturalism, banditry, and for showcasing a negative example for Ukrainian peasants. The scriptwriter, Hryhorii Epik, would later be sentenced to death during the Stalinist terror for "participating in a terrorist nationalist organization."

"The Secret of Rapid" was produced at the Kyiv film studio. It is the first film by Pavlo Dolyna found in Ukraine.

Pavlo Dolyna was a prominent Ukrainian director and actor of the 1920s and 1930s, known for his work in Les Kurbas' Young Theatre and other companies. Dolyna made his debut as a film director at the age of 39 and in the next five years directed eight feature films.

After a critical article titled "Ideological Detours" published in the magazine "Kino" in 1932, Dolyna effectively stepped away from narrative cinema and moved to work in "Tekhfilm," eventually leading the Theatre Museum in Kyiv after the war.

"The Secret of Rapid" depicts the sharp confrontation typical of contemporary Soviet cinema between the collective and the individual, the "new" and the "old."

"The discovery of 'The Secret of Rapid' is a long-awaited return for researchers and viewers. It provides an opportunity to revisit the Ukrainian film canon and to get acquainted with the work of one of the key authors of the VUFKU era, not just through film criticism and literature. Finally, a little-known page of Ukrainian cinema can be seen directly on screen," says Oleg Olifer.