Stanisław Vincenz’s Hutsul epic in Ukrainian, translated by Taras Prokhasko
The Polish Institute of Books supported the initiative of the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” and provided funding to the publishing house “Lilya-NV” for the Ukrainian translation of the second part of Stanisław Vincenz’s work “On the High Uplands” – “New Times”, book 1 – “Zvada”. The second part of the work, like the first, will be translated by Taras Prokhasko, an outstanding translator and writer, laureate of the Joseph Conrad Prize.
The novel “On the High Uplands”, written by the Pole Stanisław Vincenz in Switzerland and published in Warsaw in 1936, is a multi-volume canvas about the Hutsul region, which contains a huge ethnographic material, shows the life, customs, and spiritual culture of the Hutsuls. Vincenz himself wrote that his purpose was “to discover world colors and the history of Hutsul Verkhovyna”. “On the High Uplands” is compared to “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi and Hnat Hotkevich’s works about Opryshks, called “Kalevala of the Hutsuls”.
Taras Prokhasko started translating Vincenz in 2009. According to the organizers of the translation – NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” and Publishing House “Lilya-NV”, for Ukrainians, the author’s translation of Taras Prokhask is Columbus’s discovery of terra incognita – the work “On the High Uplands”. While working on the work, Prokhasko uniquely preserves the maximum of authentic Hutsul intonations, but gives a sound that is understandable and close to contemporaries from all over Ukraine.
Currently, cooperation agreements have been signed between all partners of the publication of the second part – “Institute of the Book” (Krakow, Poland), “Lileya-NV” publishing house (Ivano-Frankivsk) and NGO “All-Ukrainian Forum” (Kyiv). The publication of the book is scheduled for April 2020.
Lectures in “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility” project were held in Kharkiv and Dnipro
In Kharkiv and Dnipro, on November 11-12, within the framework of the project “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility”, open lectures by Ukrainian journalist and publicist Vitaliy Portnykov were held.
The first was a lecture for students of Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin. The second was a lecture for students of Dnipro National University named after Oles Gonchar.
Both lectures were attended by a large number of listeners, which indicates the high interest of the audience. More than 110 listeners in Kharkiv, and more than 120 in Dnipro – mostly students, teachers, media representatives and interested citizens.
The main goal of the lectures is to increase the quality, objectivity, non-involvement of media content and, as a result, to increase the level of critical thinking and objectivity of assessments of information and events by Ukrainians. Society should be well informed about events in the country and the world, and the information received should be as honest, fair as possible, without distortion of information. Public trust should be a priority in the work of the media.
Based on the lecture, a television version will be produced, which will be shown on the air of the media partner of the project – the Espreso TV channel.
The next lecture will be held in the city of Vinnytsia. This will be the penultimate lecture within the project, the last one will be held in Kyiv.
The organizer of the event is the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, with the support of the Media Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine. Organizational partners were Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin and Dnipro National University named after Oles Honchar. The media partner of the event is Espreso TV channel.
Espreso TV premiered the televised version of Vitaliy Portnykov’s lecture as part of “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility” project
On Sunday, November 10, the Espreso TV channel premiered the TV version of Vitaliy Portnykov’s lecture, which took place in the city of Ostrog on October 12.
The lecture took place within the framework of the project “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility”. The event was organized by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, with the support of the Media Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine, the organizational partner was the “Ostrozka Academy” NU, the media partner of the event was the Espreso TV channel.
We remind you that the telecast of the lecture will be repeated on November 17 at 11:00 p.m.
Espreso TV to broadcast the lecture delivered to students of Ostroh Academy
On Sunday, November 10, the TV channel Espreso will premiere the TV version of Vitaliy Portnykov’s lecture, which took place on October 12 in the city of Ostrog.
The lecture took place within the framework of the project “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility”. The event was organized by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, with the support of the Media Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine, the organizational partner was the “Ostrozka Academy” NU, the media partner of the event was the Espreso TV channel.
We remind you that the telecast of the lecture will be repeated on November 17 at 11:00 p.m.
The NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” presented a teaser for the film “Vincenz” with support from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
The teaser was presented live on Espreso TV by pre-production project coordinator Maria Gurska and actor Oleg Drach.
Espreso TV to broadcast the teaser for the biopic “Vincenz”
This Sunday at 14:05 on the Espreso TV channel – the premiere of the teaser of the feature film “Vincenz” by the Polish director Jan Kidawa-Blonski.
“Vincenz” is an upcoming large-scale biopic of Polish-Ukrainian production, the life story of the “Homer” of Hutsul Region, the author of the Hutsul epic “On the High Uplands”, Stanisław Vincenz, a writer and thinker. The script of the 2018 film was created by Ukrainian playwrights Natalia Vorozhbyt (“Cyborgs”) and Max Kurochkin with the support of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. The pre-production project was implemented by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
In the center of film history, in addition to beautiful Carpathian landscapes, Hutsul legends and the philosophy of an outstanding humanist, we see a dramatic love triangle. The fact is that two women fought for the heart of Stanisław Vincenz – the first and second wives – Lena and Irena. When in 1939, after the redistribution of Poland, which included Hutsul region before the Second World War, this territory was captured by Soviet troops, the local intelligentsia began to be threatened with repression. Vincenz went to prison. The arrest threatened his entire family – representatives of the Polish elites were sent en masse to exile in Kazakhstan at that time. The many-week journey in goods wagons was terrible, the conditions were inhumane – few experienced even the journey itself, let alone exile. Miraculously freed from prison, the writer decided not to wait for the next arrest – and together with his two dear women and three children fled across the border to Hungary through the Black Mountain Range, accompanied by a molfar guide.
The writer ended his life and book in the Swiss Alps.
The scene of the Vincenzes fleeing abroad is reproduced in the teaser of the film with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. Under the direction of the famous Polish director and laureate of the Cannes Film Festival, J. Kidawa-Blonski, it was shot by the second outstanding Pole in the project – cinematographer Lukasz Gutt. Filming took place in the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine near Kyiv, as well as in the capital’s filming pavilion. A significant part of the natural scenes was shot in the Ukrainian Carpathians – in the writer’s homeland, in the village of Kryvorivnia, Verkhovyna district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The role of Stanisław Vincenz in the teaser was performed by Ukrainian actor Oleg Drach, who will present the teaser to the general public at Espreso this Sunday together with journalist and cultural manager Maria Gurska, who starred in the teaser as Vincenz’s wife, Irena.
The teaser will also feature Ukrainian folk star Nina Matviyenko, Ukrainian actor Yevhen Malukha and other talented actors.
Work on the full-length film will begin in 2020 on the basis of pre-production, carried out with the support of the UKF.
Espreso TV premiered the televised version of Vitaliy Portnykov’s lecture as part of “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility” project
On Sunday, October 13, the Espreso TV channel premiered the TV version of Vitaliy Portnykov’s lecture, which took place in Odesa on September 23.
The lecture took place within the framework of the project “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility”. The event was organized by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, with the support of the Media Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine, the Faculty of Journalism, Advertising and Publishing of I. I. Mechnikov Odesa State University acted as the organizational partner, the media partner of the event was the Espreso TV channel.
We remind you that the telecast of the lecture will be repeated on October 19 at 11:00 p.m.
The teaser of the film “Vincenz” will soon be presented to the public
Anna Palenchuk, the line producer of the teaser of the film “Vincenz”, talked about the content of the project and how the filming took place, on the air of the Espreso TV channel.
Anna Palenchuk – a leader in co-production in the domestic cinema Anna Palenchuk (co-production company “Estalgia” – dir. D. Onyshchenko (Ukraine-Germany-Serbia), “Mariupolis”, dir. Mantas Kvedaravicius (Lithuania-Ukraine-Germany-France), “Numbers” dir. O. Sentsov, A-Seitablaev (Ukraine-Poland), d/f “Ridni” directed by V. Manskyi (Ukraine-Germany-Estonia-Latvia) and others).
A lecture in “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility” project was held in Ostroh
On Saturday, October 12, within the framework of the project “The Fourth Estate: Influence, Challenges, Responsibility”, an open lecture by Ukrainian journalist and publicist Vitaliy Portnykov was held for students of the Ostroh Academy National University.
More than 180 listeners were present during the lecture, including: students, teachers, representatives of local authorities and civil society.
The main goal of the lectures is to increase the quality, objectivity, non-involvement of media content and, as a result, to increase the level of critical thinking and objectivity of assessments of information and events by Ukrainians. Society should be well informed about events in the country and the world, and the information received should be as honest, fair as possible, without distortion of information. Public trust should be a priority in the work of the media.
A television version will be made on the basis of the lecture, which will be shown on the air of the media partner of the project – the Espreso TV channel.
The next lecture will be held in the city of Kharkiv. Other cities where events are planned will be Dnipro, Vinnytsia and Kyiv.
The event was organized by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” with the support of the Media Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine. Organizational partner – NU “Ostroh Academy”. The media partner of the event is Espreso TV channel.
Photo: Lesya Kasiyanenko
Filming has wrapped on the teaser for the feature film “Vincenz”
The creative team of the project spent two full shooting days, one of which was organized at the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine, the second – in the Ukrainian Carpathians – in the village of Kryvorivnia, Verkhovyna district, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The feature film “Vincenz” is an upcoming large-scale biopic of Polish-Ukrainian production. The script of the 2018 film was created by Ukrainian playwrights Natalia Vorozhbyt (“Cyborgs”) and Max Kurochkin with the support of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. The pre-production project is implemented by the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum” with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
The plot of the future full-length film is based on the life story of the Polish writer Stanisław Vincenz – the “Homer” of Hutsul Region, the author of the Hutsul epic “On the High Uplands”. The director is Polish cinematographer Jan Kidawa-Blonski, laureate of the Cannes Film Festival (Fipressi Award for the film “Rose”, Golden Eagles Award for the film “Stars”).
The teaser of the upcoming film touches on several key scenes from the life of Stanisław Vincenz, a Pole with a Hutsul heart. In particular, the childhood memories of the writer are reproduced – upbringing by a nanny-hutsulka, dramatic romance of relations with two women, writing a book. The central scene of the teaser is the escape on foot abroad – to Hungary, which Vincenz made together with both wives and children from two marriages, accompanied by a molfar, when he began to be seriously threatened by the machine of Soviet repression.
The role of Stanisław Vincenz in the teaser is played by Ukrainian actor Oleg Drach. Ukrainian folk star Nina Matvienko, People’s Artist of Ukraine, plays Stanisław Vincenz’s nanny. In the role of Vincenz’s wife Irena – Maria Gurska, host of the Espreso TV channel, star of the Polish film “Daughters of Happiness” directed by Marta Mesaros. The first wife, Lena, is played by Ukrainian actress Halyna Svyat. Hutsul – Yevhen Malukha. Vincenz Barbara’s daughter is 4-year-old Vera Gorda. Andrzej – Danylo Bochkov, Stas – Oleksiy Servetnikov, little Stanislav – Timofey Isaev. Hutsul – Yevhen Malukha.
The line producer of the film is Anna Palenchuk, a leader in co-production in the domestic cinema (co-production company “Estalgia” – dir. D. Onyshchenko (Ukraine-Germany-Serbia), “Mariupolis”, dir. Mantas Kvedaravicius (Lithuania-Ukraine-Germany-France), “Numbers” dir. O. Sentsov, A-Seitablayev (Ukraine-Poland), d/f “Ridni” directed by V. Manskyi (Ukraine-Germany-Estonia-Latvia) and others). The second producer is Mykola Shevchenko (“Stolen Happiness”, directed by A. Donchyk).
The teaser of the feature film “Vincenz”, which is realized with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation of the NGO “All-Ukrainian Democratic Forum”, will be ready at the end of October – post-production is underway. At the same time, the creative team of the project is completing work on sketches of scenery and costumes for the upcoming film and performing other tasks within the framework of the project.
Work on the full-length film will begin in 2020 on the basis of pre-production, carried out with the support of the UKF.
