Genocide Revealed – Premiere in Ottawa

The Ottawa Ukrainian community shared the opportunity to attend the screening of Genocide Revealed, the English language version documentary film depicting one of the greatest human tragedies of the 20th Century – the 1932-33 Famine Genocide in Soviet Ukraine. The film’s Ottawa Premiere was held on November 17. The screening event was organized by Ukrainian National Federation Ottawa Vice President Vicki Karpiak, and sponsored by the UNF Ottawa-Gatineau Branch, and local chapters of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association, and Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

The Mayfair Theatre venue was chosen to attract a broader audience, and indeed it did. As well as millions of Ukrainians being starved to death, executed, repressed and arrested, there were other ethnic groups who were affected. Present in the audience that evening were: Mennonites, Russians and Germans; teachers of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board; as well as university students of East European history from both Ottawa and Carleton Universities; and history buffs.

The Mayfair Theatre, we later found out, was particularly special, as this historic theatre was built in 1932 at the time of the genocide in Ukraine.

Filmmaker Yurij Luhovy, whose film Genocide Revealed won 13 awards including “Best Historic Film 2011- Best Documentary”, was present to talk about the interviews with some of the survivors, and conveyed the difficulties he encountered trying to enhance rare historic footage from the films that he had acquired. Academy Award nominee Graham Greene, a First Nations actor, was most interested in doing the film’s narration, relating to the indigenous peoples of Canada whom he believes have also been victimized. Actress Jill Hennessy did the female ‘voice-over’ and is now trying to trace details about her early Ukrainian family history. Jill’s Ukrainian grandmother, Anna, arrived in Canada from Odessa, having escaped the 1932-33 Famine. Actor Lubomir Mykytiuk did the male ‘voice over’ and also assisted in the film’s production.

The Ottawa Ukrainian organizations were proud to donate generously the proceeds from the film’s screening to the educational mini-series DVD version, being produced by Yurij Luhovy, for the Canadian school system.

PHOTO

(L. to R.): Son and Larysa Rozumna, Yurij Luhovy, Vicki Karpiak in Mayfair Theatre Lobby at display of materials used in production of Genocide Revealed