Yurij Luhovy’s
multi-award winning English language feature documentary Genocide Revealed
on the Famine-Genocide 1932-Genocide Revealed
By Peter J. Melnycky
Yurij Luhovy’s
multi-award winning English language feature documentary Genocide Revealed
on the Famine-Genocide 1932-
Director/Producer Yurij
Luhovy was in attendance and in his opening remarks, he shared some of the
technical and logistical challenges of producing a film such as Genocide
Revealed. As an independent filmmaker, Luhovy’s extended family is the
foundation of his production team while community support is of paramount
importance in the process of creating films that give voice to issues dear to
the Ukrainian community.
In spite of any
difficulties, Luhovy expressed pride in his Ukrainian community and declared
his ongoing commitment to tell their stories in the medium of film within
mainstream settings. Luhovy stressed the importance of festival screenings as a
venue for bringing the crucial story of the Holodomor into public forums and
consciousness. He paid tribute to community supporters and stressed that the
twelve international awards that Genocide Revealed has garnered are a
tribute not to him but to the Ukrainian community. In an environment where the
current government of Ukraine cannot be counted on as a supportive partner in
such ventures, Luhovy thanked the organizers of the screening as well as the
community who helped partially fund the production: The Shevchenko Foundation, Andrij
Hladyshevsky, President; Ukrainian Self-Reliance Association, Edmonton;
Ukrainian Canadian Benevolent Society, Edmonton; Heritage Community Foundation
of Alberta; Alberta Ukrainian Commemorative Society; and others. All proceeds from the
screening are designated to the production of a shorter educational version of
the film to be used in school curricula instruction on genocide.
Following these opening
comments, the Edmonton Premiere of Genocide Revealed commenced. The
film, with narration by Gemini award-winner and Academy Award nominee Graham
Greene and voice-overs by Jill Hennessey and Lubomir Mykytiuk, weaves together
expert testimony from historians and archivists as well as documentary evidence
from historical documents. Most important are the gripping first person
survivor accounts, which Luhovy has captured for posterity. The result is a
compelling expose of a deliberate act of genocide against the Ukrainian people
both within and beyond the borders of
After a standing ovation
for the director, Daria Luciw, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress –
Alberta Provincial Council opened the floor to questions and comments. Members
of the audience congratulated Yurij Luhovy for his determination and bravery in
bringing the story of the Holodomor into public discussion.
In attendance at the
screening was the Hon. Eugene Zwozdesky, Minister of Health and Wellness and
Deputy Government House Leader of the Government of Alberta. In 2008, Minister
Zwozdesky presented the Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day
Act in the Alberta Legislature, which passed three readings unanimously in a
single day. Through this Act, the fourth Saturday of November in each year is
proclaimed as a day memorializing the Holodomor in
In her concluding
remarks, Daria Luciw stressed that it was incumbent on the community to make
sure that the history of the Holodomor genocide is recognized and that this
objective cannot be achieved without the work of filmmaker Yurij Luhovy. Upon
conclusion, the attendees mixed and mingled and met informally with the
director to share their feelings and impressions.
For
further information, please visit www.yluhovy.com If you wish to help support the educational
version of Genocide Revealed, email mmlinc@hotmail.com, write 2330
Beaconsfield Ave., Montreal, Quebec, H4A 2G8, or phone (514) 481- 5871.
PHOTO
L. to R.: Daria Luciw, President of
UCC APC, filmmaker Yurij Luhovy, Luba Feduschak, President, UCC -