Film Screening. The Lost Petition

Please join the Ukrainian Film Club at Columbia University for a screening of the little-known Ukrainian film classic The Lost Petition (1972), directed by Borys Ivchenko. The film is in Ukrainian with English subtitles. Professor Yuri Shevchuk will introduce the film and moderate the discussion.

Inspired by a Mykola Hohol (a.k.a. Nikolai Gogol) short story, this heroic comedy takes place in 18th century Ukraine. Two Cossacks, Vasyl and Andrii, set out on a surreal journey to St. Petersburg. Charged by the Hetman of Ukraine to deliver a letter to the tsarina, they go through thick and thin in order to accomplish their dangerous mission and safely return home. On the way, they demonstrate miracles of resourcefulness, overcome countless challenges, and cheat the devil himself. The iconic actor Ivan Mykolaichuk plays the lead role. Shot when the Soviet regime launched a new campaign of repressions against Ukrainian dissidents, better known as the sixtiers, the film resorts to Aesopean language to push the limits of national self-expression imposed by the colonial regime in the final stage of its existence.