The Dovzhenko Center, in collaboration with October Cinema, is hosting the "Kyiv Film Festival" in honor of Kyiv Day from May 22 to 26.
This year's theme is "Kyiv Through the Ages". Organizers explain that through classic and contemporary films, viewers will witness the evolving image of Kyiv on screen, from medieval times to the revolutionary 1920s, and from the tumultuous 1990s to the Revolution of Dignity.
The festival will open with the film "Wild Love" (1993) by director Vilen Novak from the Dovzhenko Center's collection. The film will be re-scanned for the festival with the support of October Cinema.
The story follows Maxim, a young man from a so-called "well-off" family, who falls in love with Masha, a girl from an orphanage where the effects of "Soviet educational policy" are most evident. This narrative could have concluded with a traditional heterosexual marriage, but an American woman named Susan arrives in Kyiv... A love triangle ensues.
"A conventional love story unfolds in the transgressive atmosphere of the early years of independence – a time of free markets, open borders, bare bodies, corporate pioneers, and a city that transforms into a unique document of the era", the Dovzhenko Center stated.
About the Festival
The Kyiv Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to Kyiv Day, aimed at connecting cinematic art with urban identity, revitalizing iconic Ukrainian films, and showcasing works that remain lesser-known to contemporary audiences.