Witnessing Change: Ukrainian Cinema in a Time of Turmoil
- Earth
- Земля
- USSR1930
- Oleksandr Dovzhenko
- 79 DCP
- NR
- Ukrainian Cinema
Screening Dates
- February 1 (Thursday) 8:00 Opening Night Reception – 7:00 pm
“One of cinema’s supreme visual masterpieces … An impassioned hymn to nature.”
Sight and Sound, “The Greatest Films of All Time,” 2022
A prolific writer, teacher, and director, Oleksandr Dovzhenko is considered the “father” of Ukrainian cinema. Dovzhenko’s works have had a profound influence on filmmakers in Ukraine and abroad. Among his most internationally recognized works is Earth. The film is the third entry in a trilogy that also includes Zvenigora (1928) and Arsenal (1929), each of which considers Ukraine and its societal change in the face of war and collectivization. Earth poignantly portrays the transformative period of the industrial sector in terms of the tragic struggle between generations unable to understand each other. With great love, through poetic imagery, Dovzhenko shows us the connection Ukrainian people have with their natural environment. This restored version of the film features an evocative score by Ukrainian “ethno-chaos” folk group DakhaBrakha.
Ukrainian intertitles with English subtitles
This opening-night screening of Earth will be introduced by series curator Alina Senchenko.