Part of Donbas on Screen: Rethinking History, Memory, and War — view full programme
Synopsis
Long ago, Ostap's father left a poverty-stricken village to seek work in the Donbas region. The house built by Nikanor laid the foundation for the mining settlement of Sobacheyevka. Ostap followed in his father's footsteps, working thirty years for the mine owner. But when his father was dismissed, Ostap realized it was pointless to blame management alone for their hardship. Upon meeting the revolutionary worker Harbuz (Aleksandr Antonov), he becomes one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement among the Donbas miners.
An adaptation of Oleksandr Avdeyenko's autobiographical novel of the same name, this film became a major event in the cultural life of the Soviet Union upon its release. It remains one of the finest works by Mariupol-born director Leonid Lukov.
Lukov was rightly called the poet of the Donbas, with at least five of his films set in the region. However, I Love stands distinct among them, highlighted by its unusually fairytale-like tone, reflective mood, and true novelistic structure.
The film featured set design by the prominent production designer Moritz Umansky, who later created the expressive sets for Mark Donskoy's Unvanquished—a director highly esteemed by Lukov himself. The director of photography was Ivan Shekker, who captured the Donbas with unprecedented photographic precision and later went on to shoot Serhiy Parajanov's Ukrainian Rhapsody (1961).
Donbas on Screen: Rethinking History, Memory, and War
The program examines how the image and myth of the Donbas were shaped and transformed in Ukrainian cinema during the first half of the 20th century. This retrospective helps bridge the gap between avant-garde enthusiasm for industrialization and a critical reflection on the Soviet legacy—from World War II to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. These films invite viewers to see the Donbas not as a periphery or a "gray zone," but as an integral part of Ukrainian history, culture, and the broader European experience.
Each screening will feature an introductory talk and discussion led by film expert Anna Onufriienko and external moderator, highlighting the historical context, film language, and contemporary significance of the works.
Anna Onufriienko is a cultural studies researcher, film historian, and curator specializing in Soviet cinema, visual propaganda, and cinematic representations of the Donbas region. From 2014 to 2022, she served as a film critic and programmer at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre, co-curating major retrospective projects like VUFKU. Lost & Found. Her work on Soviet and industrial media history includes co-editing the book Cinematographic Revision of Donbas (2015, 2018), co-editing the DVD set Chornobyl [in]Visible (2017), and co-directing the montage film project Atomopolis. Assembling Utopia (2016).
All descriptions and materials presented above are provided by the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre (Dovzhenko Centre), a partner of these screenings.
Partner
Screenings