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Second Annual Kinofest NYC Film Festival Features Ukrainian Cinema
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New York, March 14 — The Kinofest NYC 2011 film festival will take place in New York's East Village starting this Wednesday, March 16 through Sunday, March 20. This is the second annual Kinofest NYC festival. Since last year, it has grown from one to two locations and expanded the number of screening sessions from six to twelve. The screening venues are two East Village landmarks: The Ukrainian Museum, which is sponsoring eight of the film screenings, and the Millennium Film Workshop.
Kinofest NYC is New York's only film festival showcasing emerging Ukrainian and post-Soviet cinema. The inaugural Kinofest NYC film festival, which as an unqualified success, took place in early 2010 at The Ukrainian Museum. Films representing Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Georgia and the USA were shown over six screening sessions. The event attracted sizable audiences and brought together a variety of guest presenters, films and enthusiasts.
"This year we have expanded the festival to two screening locations – The Ukrainian Museum and the Millenium Film Workshop – both of which are established East Village cultural institutions and the perfect outlets for our selection of films," said festival director Andrew Kotliar. "With a larger and increasingly experienced organizing team, we were able to widen our scope and increase our offerings."
Program director Damian Kolodiy has finalized the festival program and is excited about the growth in the festival's presentations. "We've got a good mix of films, short documentaries and narratives, some really innovative and creative work that has never been seen in the United States before," said Kolodiy.
Hanya Krill, who heads the Museum's film program, feels strongly that the festival as a forum for presenting the cinematic arts plays an essential role in meeting the Museum's mission. Although the Museum has screened films on occasion in the past, "instituting the film program in 2008 was a signal that film is an art form that deserves special attention," said Ms. Krill. The Kinofest NYC film festival, which is a magnet for new and inspired films from Ukraine and beyond, "dovetails perfectly with the Museum's presentation of film within the context of Ukrainian culture."
Watch the 2010 Kinofest NYC video:
2011 Program Highlights
I am from Nowhere directed by Georg Misc, Slovak/English (w/Eng. subtitles), Slovakia, 2002, 79 min.
The Pied Piper of Hutzovina directed by Pavla Fleischer, Ukrainian/Russian/English (w/Eng. subtitles), 2006, 65 min.
Disco and Atomic War directed by Jaak Kilmi, Estonian (w/Eng. subtitles), Estonia, 2010, 80 min.
Torn from the Flag directed by Klaudia Kovac, Hungarian/English (w/Eng. subtitles), USA, 2007, 96 min.
Man with the Movie Camera, film classic directed by Dziga Vertov, silent, Ukraine, 1929, 65 min.
A series of film shorts, including Murat Mamedov's Adam and Eve, describing the hardships of living as a coal miner in eastern Ukraine, Maxym Vasyanovych's Mom Died On Saturday in the Kitchen, a personal story of love and loss, and Tatiana Korol's Akbulak, a story of immigration and return, set in Kazakhstan.
For complete program listings by venue, please refer to the www.kinofestNYC.com website.
Festival Sponsors
Kinofest NYC sponsors provide essential financial and material support, and their involvement is crucial to helping the festival fulfill its mission. This year's festival is being produced in part with the cooperation of The Ukrainian Museum in New York under the auspices of its film program. (The Museum's film program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council). The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations and the General Consulate of Ukraine in New York are honorary patrons. Major sponsors of the festival include Self Reliance (NY) Federal Credit Union, Aerosvit Airlines, and Veselka restaurant. Media sponsors include Russian Film Week, Nova Hazeta, Open Night Film Festival (Ukraine), CinemaHall (Ukraine) and others.
About the Festival
Founded in 2009, Kinofest NYC is a festival committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema. Kinofest NYC seeks to educate and entertain its participants and to provide opportunities for its public to watch independent film from Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries. The festival also serves as a forum to introduce new filmmakers from these countries to American audiences and industry professionals. All films are in English or their original language with English subtitles.
