
State Enterprise "Ukrainian Studio of Television Films "Ukrtelefilm", 1989.

The documentary "On the Milky Way" is dedicated to the life and traditions of Ukrainians in Central and Northern Ukraine along the trade and caravan route of the same name.

On the video: ethnographic expedition to the villages of Sumy region; interviews with residents who talk about beliefs, crafts and economy, about the Chumak fishing; burial traditions of peasants in Rivne region, a fragment of the folk rite "Carrying a Bush" in the village of Svarytsevichi; interview with Petro Shelest; expedition to the Solovetsky Monastery, the grave of the koshev ataman of the Zaporozhye Lowland Army Petro Kalnyshevsky; folk songs, reflections of peasants about the degradation of modern society and the importance of preserving local traditions.

"On the Milky Way": Ukrainian traditions

State Enterprise "Ukrainian Television Film Studio "Ukrtelefilm", 1993.

The film "Ancient Times" from the "History of Ukraine" series is dedicated to the ancient history of Ukraine from the Paleolithic era to the ancient Slavs. It tells about the religious and aesthetic consciousness of primitive people, the evolution of forms of tools, decorative and household items and armorial decoration characteristic of the local population.

On the video: a story about the life of Paleolithic and Mesolithic people in the territories of Ukraine, the "Neolithic revolution", animal husbandry and agriculture; monuments of Trypillian culture, ceramics, features of urban planning; archaeological finds, an exposition of the National Museum of History of Ukraine; nomadic tribes in the territories of Ukraine, tells about the Cimmerians, Sarmatians and Scythians, Scythian gold, various plans; legends about the Ros River, ancient Slavs, Martyniv treasure, pagan beliefs; landscapes of Kyiv.

Scientific consultant of the film — Doctor of Historical Sciences Dmytro Telegin.

Ancient History of Ukraine

The musical film “Siyasya Rodysya” was produced by Lviv Television in 1969. It was commissioned by the Soviet authorities to mark the 30th anniversary of the “annexation” of Western Ukrainian lands. 

The characters in the film are the Baiko sisters: Nina, Maria, and Danyla, as well as Zinovya, Irina, and their mother, Magdalina Pavlivna. According to the script, the sisters travel to the mountains to visit their mother during the New Year celebrations. 

The video shows Lviv, city streets, winter scenes of Lviv, Christmas trees, children playing snowballs, people skiing, riding sleds on mountain forest roads, the characters decorating a Christmas tree at their mother's house, singing, carolers entering the house, New Year's celebrations in a cafe, opening champagne, dancing, and singing. 

Screenplay by Myroslav Skochylas, directed by Roman Oleksiv, cinematography by Yevhen Chekh, art direction by A. Pavliuk, film director Taras Brykaylo. The film features songs by composers Anatoliy Kos-Anatolskyi, Myroslav Skoryk, Bohdan Yanivskyi, and Oleksandr Bilash, performed by the Baiko sisters.

The film contains elements of Soviet propaganda. 

"Sow and be born" is a film musical

2003, National Television Company of Ukraine. Children's competition and entertainment programme ‘Stars, on stage!’.

On the video: opening credits, presenter, performances by children's groups. The jury: poet and songwriter Oleksiy Kononenko, head of the Promin radio station Oleg Gorsky, art history professor Olena Kasyanova, choreographer Oleg Magitov, teacher Izabela Lysenko, lecturer Klymentiy Gokun, composer and jury chairman Oleksandr Zhilinsky.

‘Stars, take the stage!’: children's competition programme

6 December 1997, Kyiv.

A play about a cat show. Owners with cats of different breeds, visitors. 

Cat show, 1997

4 October 2015, Kyiv.

In the video: exhibits from the aviation and cosmonautics history section of the State Polytechnic Museum at the National Technical University of Ukraine ‘KPI’, exhibits and models of engines and helicopters, archival photographs and posters, a helicopter on the grounds, a monument to aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky, and an abandoned historical landmark — the Sikorsky Estate.

KPI Aviation Museum

13 November 2014, Kyiv.

A video of a quick survey of Ukrainians about whether they speak English and at what level. Independence Square, Khreshchatyk Street.

Do Ukrainians speak English?

Youth Studio “Hart”, broadcast on the eve of the 1991 Referendum. Program hosts: Volodymyr Nechyporuk, Oleksandr Tkachenko and Vasyl Yatsura. 

A conversation about Independence. The video features a story about Ukrainian cities: Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, the village of Dobrovelychkivka in Kirovohrad region (the geographical center of Ukraine); street surveys about what people will vote for at the Referendum and why, talk about the federal structure of Ukraine. 

The program also includes a report from Estonia and Lithuania, newsreel footage about the history of Ukraine, and appeals about the referendum and independence by artist Mykhailo Derehus, academician Mykola Amosov, Archbishop Anthony of Vyshgorod and Pereyaslav, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Filaret, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Kostyantyn Morozov, and People's Artist of Ukraine Nina Matvienko. 

The program includes a video clip by Tamara Gverdtsiteli.  

Referendum on independence: youth studio “Gart”

National Television and Radio Company, 1997. Program “1 of 1000 Lessons,” village of Kosmach, Ivano-Frankivsk region. 

The video shows Christmas and Christmas Eve traditions and rituals: village streets, children singing carols and kolyadkas, greetings, a story about traditions in the village of Kosmach, kolyadkas, a housewife preparing kutia and other dishes, a church service.

The children's folk ensemble “Kalyna” participates in the program. 

Christmas in the village of Kosmach 

Mikhailovskaya Square on November 30, 2013.
The video shows a protest against the government, people chanting: "Out with the prisoners!", "Ukraine, rise up", "Don't be indifferent to your future".

Protests on Mykhailivska Square

National Television Company of Ukraine, Folk Art Department, 1995. 

The video shows traditions and rituals on Christmas Eve: girls sing carols and prepare for Christmas Eve; the master of the house prepares a corner of the room, sets out kutia, uzvar, and a didukh; the mistress of the house sets the festive table; the family gathers at the table; the host and hostess tell stories; girls guess who their future husbands will be; they bring dinner to their godparents; Christmas greetings; carolers walk around the village, enter houses, sing carols, and wish everyone a happy holiday.

The program features the folklore and ethnographic group “Oriyany” from the Talnivsky Construction and Economic College, director Ivan Kuyan, artistic director Tamila Zhuchenko.

Ukrainian Christmas traditions

First National, 1997. A program dedicated to the sarcophagus over the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. 

In the video: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; the sarcophagus, its construction; footage of the aftermath of the accident; the territory of the nuclear power plant from the outside and inside; work on the fourth power unit; the premises of the nuclear power plant; radioactive stalactites; water inside the power unit; power plant workers. 

Interviews: Valeria Syzyi, dosimetrist at the Shelter facility; Oleksandr Kiver, Chernobyl NPP employee; Sergei Ulkhov, reactor department operator; Oleksandr Klyuchnyk, director of the Shelter Interdisciplinary Scientific and Technical Center; Oleksandr Vorovyi, Chernobyl NPP employee.

Part of the interview is in russian. 

Society