Reflections on Nature. Film screening

We invite you to a screening of amateur films about nature, collected in the program "Reflections on Nature."

Each of the films in this program in its own way seeks and tries to express the subjectivity of nature through the vehicle of the media, which in essence involves a one-way focus on the object.

In the "Water" (1937), Witold Romer uses avant-garde cinematic language to depict different perspectives on the world and the matter from a distance of a camera: the eye of a man, the eye of a bird, the eye of a fish, and so on. In the works of Orest Bachmaha, the author watches the flora and fauna without direct interference. He introduces into the film the position of an observer, who is a hero, an author, and a spectator, at the same time. After all, in the work "Tree" by Oleg Chorny and Hennadiy Khmaruk, nature plays a major role, manifesting itself in the form of veils and material damage caused by careless handling of the tape. Eventually, we shall watch the following:

• Orest Bachmaha, Colors of Summer, early 1970s, 13 min
  This is the author's first film. It records a careful observation of changes in the life cycles of flora and fauna that occur in the garden near his house in Vynnyky. The plot of the film is about the change of seasons. So the shooting and work on the film lasted for a year. Originally the tape was silent. In 2020, Regina Zheleznyakova (Regina Collage) and Pavlo Olefirenko (Pilikayu) wrote music for it.
• Oleh Chorny, Hennadiy Khmaruk, Tree, 2019, 6 min
  The film tells about the work of a master who extracts an invisible form from a material substance, and its connection with wood. The human creative act is not deprived of the dictates of matter: it determines the result of the work of the wood carver. The subjectivity of nature is also manifested on the film – the images have been devoured by chemical damage and disappear from view. The original plot dates back to the 1980s and the author is an unknown film amateur, Victor Kyzyma, from the village of Ulyanovka, Kirovograd region (presently – the city of Blahoveshchensk), where the collective farm operated the film studio "Symbol." The 16-mm film found in 2017 was completely destroyed by lime. After the film was restored, a new author’s interpretation of the film was created.
• Orest Bachmaha, It All Still Exists, mid-1970s, 17 min
  Environmental awareness is not a new trend at all. This film is a manifesto of Orest Bachmaha.
  50 years ago he advocated for the preservation of nature. The tape is accompanied by
  recordings of bird singing and music by Jean-Michel Jarre, Enzo Caroli and Antonio Vivaldi, and
  ends with poetry by Myroslava Kulyk.
• Witold Romer, Water, 1937, 6 min
  Like no other person, the chemist Witold Romer knew about the properties and importance of water for the planet. However, continuing his experiments with visual media, he approached the subject of this matter as an artist to reveal its states and forms from a water drop to the ocean, ways of interaction, and the ability to see water and interpret it differently. His work continues the visual tradition of both the European avant-garde in general and Lviv art, and photography above all. This film was recently found in the Romer family archive in Wroclaw and is screened in Lviv for the first time in a while.

We will watch the films with comments by Andriy Boyarov and Oleksandr Makhanets.

Language: Ukrainian with simultaneous translation into Polish.

From October 6 to 24, the program "Reflections on Nature" will be continuously on in the cinema hall at the exhibition "Society with a Film Camera."

The film screening is part of the public program for the exhibition "Society with a Movie Camera" that invites you to look into the world of amateur films and wants to share the history of this phenomenon, to show unique and previously unseen materials. It intends to attract attention and highlight the conversation about the importance of preserving the heritage of film amateurs.

Opening hours

• Wednesday – Friday from 12.00 to 19.00
• Saturday and Sunday from 12.00 to 18.00
  Free admission

The exhibition and the accompanying program are implemented within the project "Society with a Movie Camera: History of Visual Modes and Creation Practices in Ukraine" with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

The position of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation may not coincide with the opinion of the authors.

Cover

Cover Image: still shot from the film "Water" by Witold Romer // from the private collection of Barbara Romer

Gallery: Bohdan Yemets