The year 1989 became a turning point in the history of Europe and the whole world. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, paved the way for the fall of the Iron Curtain, which had been cutting Europe in two for half of the century. 1989 for Europe was the beginning of unification. For Ukraine it became the precursor to inevitable changes that came within two years, to 1991.
Twenty years after the Wall came down, the association of national cultural institutions of the European Union – EUNIC – invites you for an exchange of views on Europe’s transformation from its divided past and reflections on what it means for Ukraine.
Over one week each EUNIC member institution is to show a film reflecting diverse European perspectives, followed by an audience discussion with an invited guest. The week concludes with a final discussion on Ukrainian perspectives with leading Ukrainian intellectuals and cultural figures.
Drama / 1990 / 86’ / Director: Erhard Riedlsperger
Austrian Cultural forum in Kyiv
13-year-old Julia moved with her mother to a village in the north of Austria, near the Czechoslovakian border. On the other side of the border the Prague spring was defeated and new border fences are being built. After her father’s death Julia rejects speaking, that is why her isolation as outsider becomes even stronger in the village.
After being provoked to a test of courage by the village youth she enters the no man’s land between Austria and Czechoslovakia where she comes across a tunnel leading to a building site on the Czechoslovakian ground.
Julia crosses the tunnel and gets to know Roman, a 45-year-old land surveyor. They become friends after a while. A delicate fatherdaughter, woman-man relationship evolves.
After film discussion: Dr. Paul Schulmeister
He is a renowned freelance journalist in Vienna. In 1972 he started to work for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF, in the field of television. From 1984 he worked as a head of the foreign affairs department of the ORF. In 1991 he became deputy editor in сhief. His book ‘Wende-Zeiten. Eine Revolution im Rückblick’ was published recently.
Drama / 2007 / 95’ / Director: Christian Schwochow
Goethe Institute in Ukraine
 Malchow, GDR, 1980. 20-year-old Anne is hiding Juri, a deserter of the Red Army. The two fall in love with each other. But their love is threatened: there is an arrest warrant and possibly a death sentence waiting for Juri. The
two leave the country and flee to the West, leaving Anne’s six-month-old daughter Inga behind.
Inga grows up with her grandparents and thinks that her mother died during a swimming accident. 25 years later she meets the literature professor Robert, who sends her on the trail of her past. He met Inga’s mother Anne during one of his seminars.
At first Inga is resistant, but then she asks for Robert’s help. Together they take off on a journey through Germany, in search of Inga’s mother Anne...
After film discussion: Jochen Laube
Producer. Studied at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. In 2004 he was an assistant producer at the Peter Greenaway production ‘The Tulse Luper Suitcases’ and collaborator at ‘Zauberlaterne’, a national cinema-concept for children established by the UNESCO. Since 2008 he is a producer at teamWorx Television and Film GmbH in Ludwigsburg.
Italy, France / Drama / 2007 / 100’ / Dir. Daniele Luchetti
Italian Cultural Institute in Ukraine
Set in a small Italian town in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the film tells the story of two brothers who want to change the world – but in completely different ways. The elder, Manrico, is a handsome, charismatic firebrand who becomes the prime mover in the local Communist party. Accio, the younger, more rebellious brother, finds his own contrarian voice by joining the reactionary Fascists. What starts as a typical tale of sibling rivalry becomes the story of the polarizing and paralyzing politics of those turbulent times and, the rift between the brothers is further intensified when Accio realizes that he loves his brother’s girlfriend, Francesca who, like everyone else, is blind to Manrico’s increasingly dangerous ideas.
After film discussion: Giuseppe Finocchiaro
Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Italy. He is a professional diplomat of the Italian Republic since enrolment in 2001 with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to having achieved a University Degree in Law and specialist studies in International Relations, he is a knowledgeable film conoisseur and has studied the Art privately since his university years.
Comedy / 1985 / 94’ / Director: Chris Bernard
British Council, Ukraine
Two Soviet sailors, Peter and Sergei, go ashore in Liverpool to spend one night on the town. Peter can speak a minimal amount of English but it’s enough to make contact with two Liverpullian natives, Elaine and Theresa. Elaine and Peter immediately fall in love with each other, but the night is short and they must leave with the ship. Elaine can’t forget him and writes a letter to Leonid Brezhnev, asking him to make it possible for them to reunite.
After film discussion: Tony Howson
BBC journalist and instructor. He’s working in Ukraine since 1996, running BBC led training courses. He established the European Centre for Broadcast Journalism in Belgrade, Serbia, and courses in Kosovo, Bosnia and Montenegro. He has also worked extensively in Russia, Turkey, Africa and Indonesia. He started working as a journalist in 1974.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Xmo276lYQ
France, Belgium / Documentary / 2008 / 90’ / Director: Patric Jean
French Cultural Institute in Ukraine
From the old Berlin wall to the new fence in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on African ground, this road movie takes us on a journey across four borders, giving us the picture of a mixed society, multicultural and rich of diversities despite its tradition of rejection. From north to south, one encounters men and women who have migrated from all over the world and who make up this new society, participating with energy and generosity. Quite to the contrary to stereotypical clichés, the film gives an optimistic view on Europe and its immigration.
After film discussion: Patric Jean
Film director, script writer and producer. He directed 4 documentary and documentary-fiction films. His next long documentary about ‘masculine dominance’ with a feminist goal is going to cinemas in November 2009.
Drama / 2001 / 102’ / Director: Wojciech Wojcik
Polish Institute in Kyiv
It is Poland, 1965, and Andrzej Hoffman is a physician who, having been released from prison, returns to his work at a hospital. One day he unexpectedly sees a patient, Piotr, that he knew from his days in the Polish underground. Piotr tells Andrzej that he wants to escape to the West for a much-needed operation and that Andrzej must help him as his wife and daughter are already waiting for him abroad. However, to flee from communist Poland they need money, and so the men concoct a plan to rob a bank. During the armed robbery a bank guard is wounded and Doctor Andrzej Hoffman must operate on the victim…
After film discussion: Wojciech Wojcik
Film director, who created 8 drama movies and series ‘Extradition’. His film ‘There and Back’ received Toronto festival award (2002) for the brightest individuality of the festival and for ‘addressing a historically important issue through the prism of ethical values’ as well as polish fill award ORZEL for the best directing (2003).
Moderator – Mykola Ryabchuk
Many researchers – Russian, Western, and Ukrainian alike – opine that Ukraine has yet to be equal to expectations brought by the upheavals in its recent history; namely, that 1989, the fall of the USSR, the end of communism, and the acquisition of independence came as a total surprise to most Ukrainians. This raises question or two: is it possible for post communist countries which did not experience revolutionary changes to develop beyond the shape of their socialist past? What has really changed in Ukraine since 1989, since 1991? How is art responding to these processes? Has Ukraine indeed said, ‘Good-Bye, USSR’?
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