View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UCL Discovery ECHOES OF THE PAST: UKRAINIAN POETIC CINEMA AND THE EXPERIENTIAL ETHNOGRAPHIC MODE by J.J. Gurga A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London (UCL) September 2012 DECLARATION I, JJ Gurga, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 ABSTRACT This thesis introduces the concept of the Experiential Ethnographic Mode to describe fiction film in which a particular approach is adopted during the filmmaking process, one which involves time spent on location and close collaboration with local residents. This filmmaking process forms an integral part of the filmic product, which seeks to evoke within the viewer a sense of the filmmakers’ experience of being there . The Experiential Ethnographic Mode is elaborated according to its three basic components – time, space and sound – which are fundamental to the experience of being there and, of course, to the cinematic medium. In order to explain the concept of the mode, this thesis takes as its illustrative example the school of Ukrainian poetic cinema. The Experiential Ethnographic Mode is offered as a defining characteristic of this school, and its identification enables a new interpretation of the films. These films, produced principally in the 1960s at the Dovzhenko Studio in Kyiv, are characterized by a blend of fiction and non-fiction; the use of local, non-professional actors and experimental soundtracks; and a concern with the issue of cultural heritage. The works can be connected to the traumatic events of the country’s recent past, events which transformed the relationship between the people and the land. Rather than seeing the films as oriented on the past and a lost way of life, however, this thesis shows how they are anchored in the present and assert the continuity of traditions. Employing Marianne Hirsch’s notion of ‘postmemory’ to describe the relationship of the second generation to the trauma of the first, it is argued that the films, through their use of the Experiential Ethnographic Mode, can be seen to engage in ‘postmemorial work’ and attempt to rebuild intergenerational connections. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people without whom this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to thank my supervisors at UCL, Dr Philip Cavendish and Prof. Julian Graffy, for their support, advice and encouragement throughout the research, writing, and editing process. In addition, a number of colleagues, academics, and conference and seminar participants have provided insightful comments, feedback and assistance in the process of completing this thesis, for which I am grateful. In particular, I would like to thank Marta Jenkala at UCL for her endless support, enthusiasm for the project, and advice with translations. My studies would not have been possible without the financial assistance of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, not only through their initial funding of this PhD but through the awarding of a travel grant to cover the costs of field trips to Russia and Ukraine in 2010. The UCL SSEES Excellence Scholarship also provided much needed funds in my final year. In Russia, I would like to thank the staff at Gosfil ′mofond; the Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv kinofotodokumentov; and the Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv literatury i iskusstva. In Ukraine, my thanks go to the staff at the Tsentral ′nyi derzhavnyi arkhiv-muzei literatury i mystetstva Ukrainy; the Natsional ′nyi tsentr Oleksandra Dovzhenka; and the Dovzhenko Film Studio, in particular Raisa Prokopenko at the Dovzhenko museum. A number of other individuals have assisted me during the research for this thesis; these include Alison Kahn, Larysa 4 Briukhovets ′ka, Roman Balaian, Evgenii Margolit, Ivan Zelenchuk, Oleh Biliak, and Roman K. On a personal note, I would like to thank my family and friends for their generosity and patience throughout this process. My parents, Judith and Mark, have been unwavering in their support, without which this thesis would not have been completed. Special mention must go to Chris, who has not only provided guidance, support and inspiration, but who has travelled with me on this journey – most memorably through the Carpathians in a Škoda. It was there that we met the people of Hutsul ′shchyna, who breathed life into this project and to whom this thesis is dedicated. 5 NOTE ON TRANSLATION AND TRANSLITERATION In this thesis I have used the Library of Congress system of transliteration (without ligatures) to render the quotations from Russian and Ukrainian into Latin script. Where Russian or Ukrainian words appear in English language quotations or sources, I have kept the transliteration system used by the authors. At the time of writing, the state language in Ukraine is Ukrainian and so place names in Ukraine have been transliterated in Ukrainian (e.g. L ′viv not Lviv or Lvov, Kyiv not Kiev, and Odesa not Odessa). Similarly, the names of individuals from Ukraine have been transliterated from the Ukrainian language. Clearly there are limitations to this approach and it is not always possible to ascertain an individual’s country of origin. Nonetheless, the intention is to provide some degree of consistency rather than to ascribe a national identity or linguistic preference to any individual. One obvious exception to this approach is the decision to follow common practice in referring to Sarkis Paradjanian as Sergei Paradzhanov, using the Russianized version of his name. The titles of films made at the Ukrainian studios have been transliterated in Ukrainian. For consistency, this applies even in those cases where it has only been possible to locate the Russian- language version of the film. Where provided, all translations are my own unless otherwise stated. 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Derzhkino Derzhavnyi komitet URSR po kinematohrafii (State Committee of Cinematography of the Ukrainian SSR) Goskino Gosudarstvennyi komitet SSSR po kinematografii (State Committee of Cinematography of the USSR) RGALI Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv literatury i iskusstva (Russian State Archive of Literature and the Arts) SK Soiuz kinematografistov SSSR (Union of Cinematographers of the USSR) SRK Stsenarno-redaktsiina kolehiia, Derzhkino (Screenplay-Editorial Board, Derzhkino) SPKU Spilka pratsivnykiv kinematohrafii URSR (Union of Workers in Cinematography of the Ukrainian SSR) TsDAMLMU Tsentral ′nyi derzhavnyi arkhiv-muzei literatury i mystetstva Ukrainy (Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and the Arts of Ukraine) TsKKPU Tsentral ′nyi komitet Komunistychnoi partii Ukrainy (Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine) VGIK Vsesoiuznyi gosudarstvennyi institut kinematografii (All-Union State Institute of Cinematography) 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... 4 NOTE ON TRANSLATION AND TRANSLITERATION ......................................... 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 10 Part One: Ukrainian Poetic Cinema: Framing the Subject.......................................... 16 Part Two: Film, Ethnography and the Experiential Ethnographic Mode.................... 34 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................ 57 CHAPTER ONE – Fiction, Film and Ethnography: The Making of Tini zabutykh predkiv ......................................................................................................................... 62 Ukrainian Culture in the 1950s and 1960s and the Dovzhenko Film Studio .............. 63 Shades of Shadows in Paradzhanov’s Early Work ..................................................... 79 Making Shadows ......................................................................................................... 88 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 124 CHAPTER TWO – Time and the Experiential Ethnographic Mode ........................ 126 Temporal Multiplicity ............................................................................................... 129 Temporality of the Recording ................................................................................... 140 Performing One’s Past .............................................................................................. 152 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 160 CHAPTER THREE – Space and the Experiential Ethnographic Mode ................... 164 Mapping Space: Establishing a Geographical Locale ............................................... 166 8 Constructing Space: Inside, Outside and In-between Spaces ................................... 171 Shaping Space: Camera Angle, Focus and Depth of Field in Outside Spaces ......... 177 Colouring Space: Engaging the Viewer