Modern Ukrainian cinematography is becoming more and more known in Europe, the USA and Asia, while for Australia it still remains something that is little known and, to some extent, even exotic. Since the increasing of domestic film production in 2014, the main burden on the promotion of Ukrainian films in Australia had been taken over by the Ukrainian embassy and community as well as a number of enthusiasts who likes the cinema.
Jessica Litsas Walker is one of those enthusiasts who are introducing the rich traditions of Ukrainian cinema and making new Ukrainian films known to the Australian audience. The owner of the The Pivotonian Cinema in the Australian Geelong, she and her husband, Mark, with the support of the local Ukrainian community, has been organizing Ukrainian film festivals for the third time in a row.
This year Ukrainian film festivals in Australia will start on the day of the Constitution of Ukraine and will present to the Australian audience the most popular Ukrainian films - such as "Cyborgs", "Falling", "Tribe", the film of Australian director Stefan Bugryn “War Mother” and many others. What do the organizers expect from UFF this year? How are Ukrainian films treated in Australia? What is of the most interest for Australian audience? And can Ukrainian cinema be commercially competitive in Australia? Ukrinform spoke about it with the creative director of the Ukrainian Film Festival in Geelong Jessica Litsas Walker.
FROM THE CINEMA TO THE ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL
- Jessica, can you please tell how everything started? How it was implemented? Who helped you in the selection of the first films, in the organizing the event? Who was Your first audience? What kind of feedback did you get?
- About four years ago, my husband Mark and I started Pivot Cinema as a pop up Summer cinema space in Geelong. Our first, temporary venue was inside the Ukrainian Hall in Geelong West. After six months of successful operation, we moved to a bigger space and purpose built a single screen, Art House cinema.
When and how did idea to have Ukrainian film festival in Australia appeared?
Because of our time in the Ukrainian Hall, we came to be friends with members of the local Ukrainian community, who are all big supporters of film. As a result, we decided to host a Ukrainian Film Festival. Once we realised that no one else in Australia was hosting a dedicated Ukrainian Film Festival, we thought why not make it an annual event? There is so much content coming from Ukraine now, it's very exciting to see that the industry over there is becoming stronger and stronger.
The whole concept was and is very grassroots. We implemented the entire event by ourselves, with assistance from the local community, some friends in Ukraine and more recently the Ukrainian Embassy in Canberra. We book the films directly with the producers in Ukraine and occasionally with an Australian distributor, if the film is big enough, like Sergei Loznitsa's Maidan documentary or The Tribe, from a few years ago. My husband Mark creates all of the design and marketing, which is a big component. It means we don't have to outsource and can save on the overall costs, because it's not cheap putting on a festival!
A friend of a friend of a friend works for Molodist KIFF. She has been instrumental in helping me make contact with distributors and producers in Ukraine. Over the years we have become close and I value her taste in film a lot. I usually send her a message on Facebook a few months before the festival, with my programming short list and she tells me what she likes, makes suggestions and sometimes asks me how I've even heard of these films! I think it's really important to have that direct contact in Ukraine, it helps to keep the festival in Australia relevant and I like to think we have our finger on the pulse.
Our first audience was definitely the local community. They were all very supportive and especially loved seeing the old films from the Dovzhenko Center, such as Earth. For the second festival, we noticed that members of the Ukrainian community from Melbourne were attending, which was great to see. This tells us that there's scope for the festival to grow.
- This year the Ukrainian film festival is being held for the third time. It gives us understanding that the project is successful. Tell us a bit more about it. Who are the main partners of the event?
- We feel that the festival is successful because it achieves its main goal of bringing alternative Ukrainian content to an Australian audience, as well as providing a platform for local Ukrianian productions, like the documentary War Mothers, which is screening this year with a Director Q&A. We know that these things take time to find their feet, so we to be patient to ensure the longevity of the event.
We don't have any formal arrangements as such, but we definitely consider the Association of Ukrainians Victoria (and particularly Geelong), as well as the Ukrainian Embassy in Canberra, as our biggest supporters. Since last year, we have also been speaking with the organisers of the Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australasia. CaSFFA are a far bigger organisation than ours and are a great example of what we should try to achieve over the next few years. We will be actively seeking commercial sponsors for next year's festival and it would be really cool if one of these was a Ukrainian business who had interests in promoting their company in Australia. The more support we can raise, the bigger the festival can become, meaning more films!!!
CYBORGS AND FALLING ARE THE STRONGEST FILMS OF THE FESTIVAL
- Where do You as a Creative Director looking for movies?
- Because there is so little coverage of Ukrainian films in the Australian media, I have to use the internet to discover what is happening internationally. Film festivals such as the Melbourne International Film Festival will occasionally screen a Ukrainian production but this is mostly limited to one (of 400) a year, if at all. There are some great industry websites that allow producers and distributors to promote their films and this can be a jumping off point for getting in contact with the film makers to source a screener. Once I’ve watched a film I can start making a decision on whether or not it will suit the festival.
- What kind of audience are you are working with?
- Our audience are varied and not reflective of our typical cinema patronage. Because of the nature of the content, we usually have members of the local community, other Eastern European communities or their friends and relatives coming to the festival, rather than a specific demographic of say “women aged 40-60”.
- Tell us a bit more about UFF 2018, what are its emphasis, program, plans?
- This year's festival is our most exciting to date. We feel the films are the strongest we've ever screened. We also have the most new release titles of any other year. This year's shorts package and documentary Q&A are an indication of how we would like to keep diversifying our content in the future.
ALL SCREENING WILL START FROM OLEG SENTSOV
- Many international film events held in the world today address the human rights agenda and the topics of Ukrainian political prisoners, including the fate of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov. Do you plan any actions within the framework of the UFF in Geelong?
- Not only does our programming try to address the current political climate in Ukraine, but this year we are also playing a short before every screening supporting Oleg Sentsov. We believe it is very important to make Australian audiences aware of what is happening in Russia right now. It is our hope that with international pressure and awareness, Putin will have no choice but to end the hunger strike by releasing Stensov and the other 70 Ukrainian political prisoners.
ALTERNATIVE UKRAINIAN FILMS HAVE A REAL CHANCE TO SHINE IN AUSTRALIA
- Since the first Ukrainian film festival in Australia, the Australian audience had an opportunity to watch several Ukrainian movies and movies about Ukraine on the big screen. In addition to the films shown in your FF, the joint Ukrainian-Slovak film "Mezha", a Canadian Hollywood movie "Bitter Harvest", "Cyborgs" were screened in Australia. As a person who works in the field of cinema for a long time, how do you rate these films and respond to the Australian audience? Can Ukrainian films be competitive in Australia?
- The film Bitter Harvest was shown in last year’s festival and we are screening Cyborgs this year. We believe that these Blockbuster Ukrainian productions have an integral part to play in our festival, especially because local Ukrainian audiences have a strong desire to keep in touch with the major releases of the country. It is also our agenda to promote alternative Ukrainian films that many in the local community might not have the opportunity to hear about, because they have not received media coverage or are not promoted in the cinema complexes of Ukraine. I believe it is films such as these, the more cutting edge New Wave productions that have a real chance to shine in the Australian cinema circuit.
- Recently the Ukrainian Institute (body responsible for cultural diplomacy) was established in Ukraine. What kind of assistance do You need here in Australia to proceed with Your effort of presentation Ukrainian film here?
- The main assistance everyone always needs the Arts is money! The more funding, the more likely we are to survive. Of course, to become self-sustaining we need the promotion of the new cultural phenomenon that is taking place in post-Maidan Ukraine. If Australian audiences understand that there are many exciting and innovative concepts coming out of the Ukrainian Arts scene, including the film industry, then they will start paying attention. Personally, we need a continued dialogue with the people directly involved in making and creating Ukrainian films. The more the Ukrainian local media can cover the events in the film industry, the more likely we can hear about it on the other side of the world.
Ivan Yusypiuk, Canberra