Traditionally, every Wednesday historical documentary films from the cycle Project History in Snapshot are shown in the reading room of the Lviv Oblast Universal Library. This project is joint product of the “Zarvanytsia Initiative” Civic Movement, the National Memorial Museum “The Lontsky Street Prison,” Civic Association “Hand in Hand for Future’s Sake,” Civic Association “Civil Watch,” OUN, and the library itself.
“Our project is already more than three years old,” says event coordinator Yurko Antoniak in his commentary to The Day. “The idea was conceived when we realized that Ukrainian documentary cinematograph was very poorly promoted in Ukraine, and it was hardly present on television. Then we decided that documentaries must be found and shown to the public.”
The first film presented to the public was Zoloty veresen. Khronika (“Golden September. A Chronicle”), telling about the occupation of Galicia in 1939-41. The film was accepted with admiration in all raion centers of Lviv Oblast. After that the organizers decided to continue and show more patriotic documentaries to the public.
The project’s coordinator says that they only handpick topical films. This week’s screening is dedicated to the 85th birthday anniversary of Ukrainian human rights advocate, dissident and Soviet political prisoner Mykhailo Horyn. The film’s title is Ukrainski dysydenty. Viina z systemoiu (“Ukrainian Dissidents. War on the System”).
“He is an outstanding figure in Ukrainian history, and all Ukrainians must see the example of his struggle. Besides the film, we have also shown Mykhailo Horyn’s speech at the Second Congress of Rukh in Kyiv, which took place on October 26, 1990. As a contemporary, I was again engulfed in the atmosphere, and the viewers’ eyes also lit up with interest.”
Next Wednesday another project will be presented, The Concealed Truth – Lviv Region’s Fallen Heroes, dedicated to the fallen in the war unleashed by Russia.
“To our screenings we invite historians, experts in various branches, and eyewitnesses,” adds the organizer. “Our spectators come from various age groups, young and old. Mostly it depends on the theme of the film and on the season. Often we receive groups from schools and universities, the Officers’ Association, the Ukrainian Association of Veterans, and so on. In my view, it is not so much the presence that matters as the very fact that people promote the event in social networks. It means the dissemination of information and of our ideas.”
