Oleksiy Pershko, a professional film fan, is convinced

A sufficient number of decent movie theaters in Kyiv have recently appeared where you can watch new world and European productions. Domestic exhibitors try to keep pace with the times, so the premieres in Kyiv are only a week or two late. This is a positive phenomenon, no doubt, except that what we are able to watch does not always comply with our personal preferences. We are completely dependent on the exhibitors and they, in turn, on the market situation. The latter practically rules out the appearance on our screens of the so- called art films, which because of their multifaceted and somewhat ambiguous nature (even more so due to low budgets resulting in scant Hollywood visual effects) are not popular with theater owners, for they are not in the box office league. By and large, art cinema remains for professionals and inveterate film fans that have to collect what actually interests them by bits and pieces and mainly supply their aesthetic needs at the Cinematographers House with its Weeks of Films from Different Countries. However, those interested in serious films may soon have a real and lasting alternative. The Editors are introducing a new column, My Cinema, and its first guest is Oleksiy Pershko, a man that proves with deeds, not words, that underground film can and should be developed here.

Oleksiy is a philologist by training. After the institute he joined an association of young Ukrainian filmmakers and participated in the preparation of the Yunist popular festival. He continued working there until 1998, while taking and completing a graduate course at the chair of cinema studies of the Kyiv theatrical institute. For the past three years he has worked for the Kinopalats [Cinema Palace]. This year he decided to start his own project.

Cosmopole F. D., a Moscow company, after a split, quit the 35 millimeter project and he started to freelance, launching its own project, Cinema Without Frontiers on April 4. The title is not new. Art film enthusiasts must remember a series of video cassettes under this title. The company decided to subtitle and play new movies every week. So it is through Cosmopole F. D. that Pershko plans to buy new elite films and show them in Ukraine. Buying them in Russia is less expensive than through world distributors, for in addition to paying for the rights, there is the extremely long and expensive process of adjusting the copy so it can meet the exhibition requirements, be it subtitling or professional dubbing. This costs and art houses do not have the kind of market demand in Ukraine. In a word, Pershko can only hope that the Russians will show good taste, so he can have an adequate choice. The Kyiv project is expected to start in mid-May, probably on May 15, so it can be timed to coincide with the opening of the Cannes festival. Oleksiy does not say which of the Kyiv movie theaters will accommodate his underground cinema, most likely somewhere downtown. The tickets will be sold at reasonable prices, but there will be no free showings. Such is the position in principle of the project authors. Making a profit is not important but forming an audience without all those wanting to watch a movie simply because admission is free. Such people, as a rule, care little about anyone else in the audience and behave accordingly.

In the context of the new column, My Cinema, The Day asked Oleksiy Pershko, director general of the new project, several questions that are to become traditional for every visitor.

Where do you prefer to go to the show?

O. P.: Working for the Movie Palace and being a movie fan, I was outraged by the cost of the tickets. I discussed with colleagues and executives. They were surprised at my attitude and said that it was the only way to keep the business going; besides, there were comfortable seats, everybody can buy popcorn, and so on. As a viewer I am eager to have a clear picture on the screen. Seats? I’ll make do with a stool, so long as it doesn’t fall out from under me. The main thing is to watch a movie I’m interested in, and whether or not they sell popcorn really doesn’t matter. Of course, I’d rather watch a movie on a large screen, because video remains a substitute. On the other hand, you can’t do without it, either.

What are your most vivid memories of watching movies as a child?

O. P.: The first thing that comes to mind is the Japanese movie, a Legend about a Dinosaur. It had very impressive special effects at the time. Also, I was vastly impressed by King Stach’s Wild Hunt, probably due to the setting. I watched it in a collective farm club when was in the eighth grade. And, of course, Three Days of the Condor in which Max von Sydow is just great as the hatchet man. But it’s a difficult question. I’ve lost count of the movies I’ve watched.

What do you find attractive and irksome about the modern cinema?

O. P.: Modern cinema is a wide notion. Not so long ago I realized that almost every film, with very few exceptions, irritates me – or I simply don’t feel like watching it. I recently saw

Ocean’s Eleven and was terribly disappointed by Soderbergh and his banal production. And he started with Sex, Lies, and Videotape. So I decided to concentrate on art films, even though I resolutely dislike the appellation. I’ve developed a fancy for Japanese and Korean films of late, and European productions, of course.

What recent films have actually impressed you?

O. P.: I’d single out Takeshi Kitano’s Fireworks. I think he is a very good director. Thanks to Cosmopole F. D., I’ve been able to watch all his productions. I’d also mention his Santino. Actually, I’m fond of Asian filmmaking. It touches some sensitive spot, perhaps because of their different mentality. The impression is that something new and interesting is moving to Asia rather than Europe. But of course, the European school is strong. I like Francois Ozon, and I first watched his film a very long time ago. He has made his name not only as an excellent director, but also as a creative personality capable of combining art house and business. His latest Eight Women gathered an audience of three and a half million in its first two weeks in France.

Is the cinema mass entertainment or art?

O. P.: A good question. I’m sure it is mass entertainment. Regrettably, mass audiences often spoil it. In both cheap clubs and most prestigious Ukrainian movie theaters every second person in the audience chews popcorn or candy and doesn’t bother to turn off his mobile phone.