Babylon XX: screening & talk

Dedicated to Ivan Mykolaichuk’s birthday, star of the Ukrainian Poetic School. Online-screening of ‘Babylon XX’ (1979) and online-discussion with the film’s cinematographer Yurii Harmash. The film will be available on YouTube on June, 12 at 18:30 (GMT+3) – https://youtu.be/_KhUfuOQyXQ

The film is in Ukrainian with English subtitles.

Early 1920s. There was a village called Babylon inhabited with typical peasants who lived ordinary patriarchal lives. The only distinguished fact about Babylon was the existence of a local philosopher Fabian and his friend – a goat. Ordinary lifestyle of the village was over when Klym Synytsya, a sailor from the famous revolutionary protected cruiser ‘Aurora’ appeared there. He decided to establish a commune and implement Bolsheviks ideology. A resistance group of wealthy peasants was created. The struggle between them and the communards led to a fratricidal fight in which Fabian was killed. The story contains philosophical episodes about love, hatred, stereotypes, and death.

Screenplay by Vasyl Zemlyak, Ivan Mykolaichuk
Director: Ivan Mykolaichuk
Director of photography: Yuriy Harmash
Music motifs by Ivan Mykolaichuk
Cast: Ivan Mykolaichuk (Fabian), Les Serdyuk (Danko), Boryslav Brondukov (Yavtushok), Ivan Havrylyuk (Klym Synytsya), Kost Stepankov (Bubela), Lyubov Polishchuk (Malva), Anatoliy Khostikoev (Volodya)

Produced by Dovzhenko Studio, Kyiv, in 1979.