The hall of the Social Service of Ukraine in Poltava has become the place for the presentation of an artistic documentary movie by Lilia Tkachenko – Ukraine Multiethnic. The film is a combination of the documentary shots on the life of ethnic communities within Ukraine, and the staging of a typical conversation between a person affected by Russian propaganda and an ordinary resident of Ukraine.
According to Tkachenko, the filming had had taken place from December 2014 to July 2015 in different regions of the country. Generally in Ukraine there are more than 120 ethnic groups, but the film represents the ten largest minorities – Russians, Belarusians, Moldovans, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Romanians, Poles, Jews, and Armenians. A driving force that among others had prompted the creation of a documentary is the fight against false news, which is disseminated in the course of the information war. According to the author of Ukraine Multiethnic, this project is very important, due to a need of demonstration of the ethic groups’ real life both to Ukrainians and foreigners – and of how they are able to preserve their culture, language, and traditions. By the way, the film has English subtitles, so not being able to understand Ukrainian would not be a problem for a viewer. The project was endorsed by Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Ukraine.
Poltava has not been the first city to see this wonderful movie. The premiere has been held in August in Kyiv, and since then the film has been demonstrated in six Ukrainian cities. Unfortunately, due to a lack of awareness among the people in the region (invitations were only distributed through social networks), the presentation in Poltava had a low attendance. Yet everyone who visited was impressed by what they saw, and a lively discussion after the screening has lasted a long time.
Tkachenko disclosed that in near future she plans to work on the film dedicated to environmental issues; she also wants to direct a film on the life of Ukrainians abroad. Her immediate plans include distribution of the currently presented movie among all educational institutions of Ukraine.
