Documentary Genocide Revealed Wins Indie Fest International Award

Montreal - The historical feature documentary Genocide Revealed produced and directed by Yurij Luhovy has won the prestigious Award of Merit at the Indie Fest International Festival held at La Jolla, California.  

“I am very honoured Genocide Revealed has won at the Indie International Film Festival.  This award helps give international awareness to a genocide that has been deliberately silenced for too long. I wish to thank everyone that helped support the making of this film,” stated Luhovy.

Genocide Revealed examines one of the greatest tragedies of the 20^th Century - the 1932-1933 man-made famine-genocide in Soviet Ukraine engineered by Stalin’s regime, and the accompanied decimation of the Ukrainian intelligentsia and destruction of Ukraine’s historical past.  

The Indie Fest “recognizes film professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce stand out entertainment or contribute to profound social change and compelling documentaries. An international awards competition, entries are judged by highly qualified processionals in the film industry.”

“In winning an Indie, Yurij Luhovy joins the ranks of other high-profile winners of this internationally respected award,” stated Thomas Baker Ph.D., who chairs the Indie Fest, adding “The Indie is not an easy award to win.  Entries are received from around the world.  The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality entries. The goal of the Indie is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve.”

The 75 min. documentary is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene.

Actress Jill Hennessy, who does the female voice-over in the documentary, was recorded in New York at Avatar Studios.  “She was visibly very moved by the stories of the eye witnesses, yet the delivery was carried out with restraint, identifying deeply with their pain...” stated Luhovy.  Born in Edmonton, Hennessy pursued her acting career in New York. Her Ukrainian grandmother Anna from Odesa, may have escaped the famine-genocide in Soviet Ukraine. Hennessy is trying to trace details about her early family history.      

Toronto-based actor Lubomir Mykytiuk’s film voice-over was recorded in the Spence-Thomas recording studio in Toronto.  Originally from Montreal, upon graduating from Loyola College, Mykytiuk studied acting in New York and received his Masters of Fine Arts from New York University.

The film’s director Yurij Luhovy stated, “I am exceptionally proud that these three accomplished actors are part of this documentary. I wanted knowledge of this genocide to penetrate into mainstream consciousness. These internationally-known actors will help make this happen”.

The documentary has also been officially selected to participate in the Litchfield Hills International Film Festival 2011 (formerly called the Kent International Film Festival) in Connecticut, to be held in April.

Luhovy is presently making a shorter version of the documentary (52min. 30sec.) for educational purposes.

To arrange for a film showing or to order Genocide Revealed call 514-481-5871; email mmlinc@hotmail.com; write to 2330 Beaconsfield Ave, Montreal, Quebec, H4A 2G8 or visit website: www.yluhovy.com

PHOTOS

1 - Actress Jill Hennessy with film director Yurij Luhovy in the Avatar recording studio in New York
2 - Director of Genocide Revealed Yurij Luhovy with historian-researcher Nina Lapchynska finalizing shooting schedule in Donetsk oblast