Genocide Revealed in Calgary, Vancouver

The Calgary Premiere of the powerful multi-award winning feature documentary film Genocide Revealed took place at St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cultural Centre on September 19, 2011. The event was sponsored by the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Calgary Collection, and the Calgary branch of the Ukrainian Self-Reliance Association (TYC), along with the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

Uliana Holowach-Amiot of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada was the evening’s MC. She introduced honoured guest Yurij Luhovy, the producer and director of Genocide Revealed, which has received twelve international awards, including those for “Best Historical Film”, “Best Documentary”, and “Best Direction”. Mr. Luhovy recounted the difficulties, both emotional and technical, in the production of the film, and emphasized the necessity for the completion of the shorter educational adaptation for use in schools and universities across the country. He also thanked UCPBA Calgary for their generous support in the making of the film.

The audience was riveted during the screening. Among those in attendance was Wayne Cao, Alberta MLA for Calgary Fort. A Vietnamese refugee, Mr. Cao is a frequent guest and speaker at the Calgary Holodomor commemoration held each November.

Yurij Luhovy was thanked for having the strength and the courage to produce such documentaries, which bring to light the injustices suffered by the Ukrainian people throughout history. Following the viewing, individuals were moved to financially support the important and much-needed educational version of the film, for which the event’s proceeds were designated. The evening concluded with a Wine & Cheese reception hosted by Calgary TYC. (by Uliana Holowach-Amiot)

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On September 22, Genocide Revealed was given a special screening to students at the Vancouver Film School (VFS), a leading centre for training and higher learning related to media with 13 different programs related to the entertainment arts including film production.

Filmmaker Yurij Luhovy answered questions about the process of putting together a film, the difficulty of making an independent production, and how one goes about to begin to search for and obtain the rights to use documents, photos and archival film footage. Also speaking at the screening was his daughter, Adriana Luhovy, a VFS student, who was the main cameraperson on Genocide Revealed. Listening to the testimonies of survivors about what they endured during the Stalinist period, she was torn between keeping a very private moment, or recording their life stories life for others to finally understand what happened during the Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933. This was the first time VFS screened a film on a Ukrainian topic.

Genocide Revealed then premiered three days later to the community organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Vancouver Branch, Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada, and Ukrainian Studies Foundation of BC.

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For a list of upcoming screenings or information visit www.yluhovy.com. To arrange a screening, contact tel. 514-481-5871 or e-mail: mmlinc@hotmail.com . Genocide Revealed is narrated in English by actor Graham Greene or Okradena Zemlya (the Ukrainian language version) is narrated by actor Bohdan Beniuk.

A shorter, educational version of Genocide Revealed for schools and universities is in production. To make a donation, please contact MML Inc. - Genocide Revealed, 2330 Beaconsfield Ave., Montreal, QC H4A 2G8. For an income tax receipt, cheques should be made payable to “Shevchenko Foundation-Genocide Revealed.”

PHOTOS

1 - L. to R.: At the Calgary Premiere Bohdan Romaniuk, President UCPBA Calgary; Uliana Holowach-Amiot, Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Calgary Collection; Yurij Luhovy, Producer/Director; Michael Hantzsch, Vice President UCPBA Calgary

2 - L. to R.: Myroslav Petriw, President UCC Vancouver, filmmaker Yurij Luhovy and Daria McMorran at Vancouver Premiere