February 21: Fragile Memory

This screening is part of our ongoing partnership with the European Cultural Foundation. In the week of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we show Fragile Memory, followed by an aftertalk with Ukrainian filmmaker Mariia Ponomarova and film researcher Olexii Kuchanskyi, in collaboration with the European Cultural Foundation.

The film, which looks back at the film career of Igor's grandfather, is an important reminder of Ukraine's film history and heritage, as well as the constant threat of cultural erasure. After the screening, co-writer and producer of the film Mariia Ponomarova and film critic Olexii Kuchanskyi will discuss the state of cinema two years into the war as well as some of the questions that the film poses with regards to cultural history and memory.

Igor Ivanko - Ukraine, Slovakia - 2022 - 85 min.

Igor Ivanko discovers piles of old negatives at the dacha belonging to his grandfather Leonid Burlaka, a successful cameraman in the heyday of the Soviet studios. Igor, himself a Ukrainian filmmaker, gets this private collection printed and attempts to restore the images digitally. They form a document of the life of Burlaka, who from 1964 to 1999 made 30 features for Odessa Film Studio, a major producer in the glory years of Soviet cinema.

At the kitchen table, Ivanko puts questions to his now-retired grandfather: What was it like to make films in those days? How much freedom did he have, artistically and in his private life? In many cases, these and other questions remain unanswered, because Burlaka has Alzheimer’s and his memory is deteriorating quickly.

This prompts Ivanko to dive into the archives, search for his grandfather’s former colleagues, and talk with his grandmother about the past. He hopes that this blend of warm confrontation, clips of Burlaka’s work, and especially his now-decaying private archive will enable him, in the nick of time, to resurrect the personal stories from behind the Iron Curtain.

• Venue: IDFA Vondelpark Pavilion, Vondelpark 3 in Amsterdam. Find here all info about the venue’s accessibility.
• Time: 7.30 - 9.15 PM.
• Ticket price: Regular: €12. CJP and Stadspas holders: €9. Students: €6.
• The film has English subtitles. The Talk will be in English.