American director and producer Darrell Aronofsky claims that films are living dreams. And people create these dreams. Ukrainian cinema is rich in iconic films, thanks to which our worldview was formed. Today, on the Day of Ukrainian Cinema, we will remember the films that are in one way or another connected with Zhytomyr

1.«Earth» (1930)
Could a young teacher at Zhytomyr Primary School know that cinema would make him famous all over the world? However, it was the film «Earth» that put Alexander Dovzhenko on a par with the names of Chaplin and Fellini. But let’s take turns. Censors will discuss the film 32 times before it is released. And as if nothing seditious will be found and the film will be shown to a wide audience. However, after coming to their senses, in a few days the representatives of the party censorship will remove the film from the screening «due to naturalism and encroachment on customs». Despite the high assessment of the US National Film Critics Council, the film «Earth» will be forgotten in the homeland for a long time. What so frightened the party leadership? Apparently, the beauty and authenticity of Ukrainian landscapes, artificial feelings and talent of the Ukrainian artist who captivated the world. Oleksandr Dovzhenko will never know that the film will become a cult film in Ukrain…A new lifw to the black and white silent film was given by the prominent Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha which in the framework of the international educational project for the film composers Envision Sound, which was organized by the Dovzhenko-Center together with the British Council in Ukraine,has sounded the film. Today, Alexander Dovzhenko’s film «Earth» is included in the list of 12 best films of all time.
2. «Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors» (1964)
Millions of budgets or large-scale decorations are not always needed to create a world masterpiece. Parajanov’s film «Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors», which received more than three dozen international awards, 28 prizes at film festivals in 21 countries, required the talent and inspiration of Ukrainian artists. The film about the poetic, talented and free soul of the Ukrainian people was respected by the world community, but at home it was not received very well. Critics even claimed that the film was «not exactly after Kotsyubynsky». At the premiere of the film, the artists openly opposed the arrests of the Ukrainian intelligentsia by the authorities. Whether it is the power of art or the magic of Molfar (some witnesses to the making of the film have argued that this was necessary) have secured the film fame for many years. But there is no mystique here, only the connection of generations. Researchers claim that the author of the novel, Mykhailo Kotsyubynsky, then a correspondent for the Volyn newspaper in Zhytomyr, attended the first film screenings and looked closely at the apparatus and screen in 1896, and Parajanov’s genius modernized the creative plan of the Ukrainian classic. The director managed to gather a stellar team: cameraman Yuri Ilyenko recreated the beauty of the Carpathian landscapes, sensual music was created by composer Myroslav Skoryk, and Ivan Mykolaychuk’s first acting work conveyed the «fire of life».
3.«Babylon XX» (1979)
The script of the film, based on the novel «Swan Flock» by Vasyl Zemlyak, was approved by the State Cinema of the Ukrainian SSR only for the fourth time. At the discussion it was noted that the authors made an interesting attempt in a kind of genre solution to tell the first steps of Soviet power in Ukraine, the birth of new features of socialist consciousness. But in fact the poetic parable is not about that at all. Ivan Mykolaychuk spoke about his first directorial work as follows: «We wanted the life of the village of the 1920s to be in the frame, as created by its centuries-old course of development of the people’s culture. Especially since the revolution has disrupted the established way of life for centuries. People spoke different languages». The novice director managed not only to create a beautiful work of art, but also to bypass obstacles from art officials. And although «Babylon XX» does not have so many cinematic awards, it is one of the best classical works of Ukrainian cinema, written based on the work of the Zhytomyr writer.
4.«The Tribe» (2014)
The latest Ukrainian cinema is also rich in bright films. The film «Tribe» directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytsky received so many critics that it is worth watching this film at least to make your own review. Frank, and sometimes cruel film is also about life and love, which are also different. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film won three awards at once. The uniqueness of the film is that the characters do not say a word – this is a story about life in a boarding school for the deaf. The realistic film story is available for viewing on Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and others, and the American magazine Rolling Stone has included the Ukrainian film in the list of the 50 best films of the decade. Among the many awards – «Golden Camera» for the best cinematography, which received Zhytomyr resident Valentin Vasyanovich.
5.«The Price of Truth» (2019)
The world premiere of the Ukrainian-Polish-British film took place at the 2019 Berlinale. However, work on the film began 14 years ago, when Andrea Khalupa, an American of Ukrainian descent, began writing the screenplay. The artist did not expect the story of British journalist Gareth Jones, thanks to which the world learned about the Holodomor tragedy, to be so relevant. Polish director Agnieszka Holland took over the direction, believing that the events in Ukraine are the heart of the film. To recreate real events, the shooting took place in several Ukrainian locations: in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions. For covering the Holodomor, Agnieszka Holland was awarded the Order of Princess Olga of the Third Degree, and earlier, in November 2008, President Victor Yushchenko posthumously awarded Gareth Jones the Order of Merit of the Third Degree to his niece Margaret Collie. According to the British edition of The Guardian, the film was included in the list of the best films of 2019.