The XXII Triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians to Screen “Acts of Imagination”…

Winnipeg - On Friday, October 19th at 10:00 pm the Ukrainian Canadian Congress will be screening the new film Acts of Imagination at Winnipeg’s Cinematheque, 100 Arthur Street, The screening is included in the program of the XXII Triennial Congress scheduled for October 19-21, 2007.

The film, directed by Carolyn Combs and written by Michael Springate, focuses on the power of new relationships, forgiveness and the mutability of memory. Acts of Imagination explores how historical injustice both parts people and creates unexpected solidarities.

A question haunts Katya and her brother Jaroslaw, young immigrants to Vancouver’s east side. They have recently arrived from Ukraine where the official version of history was for many years at odds with their own. Struggling to adapt to a new country, the siblings are trying to make sense of a past that remains a disturbing mystery.

Katya and Jaroslaw have always been close, but their tight bond causes problems in their new life.  As Jaroslaw struggles to make ends meet after losing his job, Katya becomes increasingly obsessed with imagining the details of their parents' disappearance. She suspects they were murdered for supporting the independence movement that led to the "Orange Revolution".  Slipping into her mother’s character, imaginary moments from the past are triggered by her affair with Aashir, an older man Katya meets on the banks of the Fraser River.

Desperate for money, Jaroslaw devises a plan to sell a precious heirloom from the Holodomor, the Stalin-era famine that killed millions of Ukrainians. The real world collides with Katya's imagined world, and a series of events with unforeseen consequences are set in motion.

For more information about the film please see www.actsofimagination.com. 

All delegates to the Congress will receive tickets to the screening.  A limited number of extra tickets will be available through the UCC office the week before Congress.  Additional screenings will be held at Cinematheque, Winnipeg from November 2-8, at Toronto's Royal Theatre in November, and Metro Cinema, Edmonton from November 9-12th.

For more information about the Congress, please see www.ucc.ca/uccxxiicongress or contact the UCC National Office in Winnipeg at 1-800-942-4627 or 1-204-942-4627