NYC Screening of "The Orange Chronicles" sponsored by the Orange Circle
December 12, 2006
The Orange Circle is pleased to sponsor a special NYC screening of "The Orange Chronicles" at the Anthology Film Archives located at 32 Second Ave. at 2nd street, on Tuesday, December 12nd, 2006 at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale at 7pm and will cost $10.
The film was featured as a work-in-progress opening night of the Helsinki Human Rights Watch Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, and will be participating at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam at the end of November. Please visit the newly updated website www.OrangeChronicles.com for more information.
Film synopsis
The 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine was a massive demonstration of people for democracy and against electoral fraud. Millions braved freezing weather conditions to fight against stolen elections. THE ORANGE CHRONICLES is a powerfully moving and unique examination of Ukraine's Orange Revolution from the perspective of an intrepid Ukrainian-American filmmaker. Director Damian Kolodiy, criss-crossed the country in the weeks before the remarkable events of 2004 as a volunteer International Election Observer, recording the build-up to what turned out to be one of the most astonishing bloodless political turnarounds in recent history. Now, two years later, as countries around the world, including the U.S., continue to struggle with insuring basic electoral freedoms, the exhilarating victory expressed by the people of Ukraine after decades of censorship and corruption resonates even more strongly as a model for inspiration and change.
THE ORANGE CHRONICLES documents operations and sentiments on the ground during the lead up to the elections, and provides a clear understanding of the dramatic confrontations and high stakes of that time. It also explores what motivated the people to activate, as well as the emotional conflicts among a bitterly divided populace. Lessons about the power of organized activism can be applied the world over to successful opposition against electoral corruption.
Narrated by the filmmaker, THE ORANGE CHRONICLES focuses on the passionate people who filled the streets of Kyiv during the Presidential Elections of 2004 to protest the poisoning of their candidate Viktor Yushchenko, an unjust election and the corrupt government that created it. In the process of documenting the revolution, Kolodiy rediscovers his own modern Ukrainian identity and comes to understand the personal imperatives behind one country's fight for justice.
Travelling through the Ukrainian landscape, he sees firsthand the continuation of his grandparent's struggle for a free and independent country. His video diary highlights the erection of Tent City, the blockading of government buildings and the warehouses and homes providing refuge for the diverse network of revolutionaries. Kolodiy interviews senior citizens, teachers, workers, doctors, homemakers and members of the activist youth group, Pora. He is there, in Kyiv, on the Day of Voting and on the Maidan, Kyiv's "Independence Square", when Yulia Tymoshenko electrifies the Ukrainian people with her impassioned call for them to defend their rights and instills hope in a democratic future for Ukraine.
Featuring rare insider coverage, the film follows Kolodiy as he joins a colorful caravan, dubbed the "Friendship Train," traveling through Censored Ukrainian regions delivering news of the Orange Revolution in hostile territory. Along the way he documents the interactions between opposition (pro–Yushchenko) and government (pro–Yanukovych) supporters, culminating with a free and fair presidential election.
The Orange Revolution was a time of hope, a time of passion, a time of faith—one of the Ukrainian people's finest moments on the world stage. THE ORANGE CHRONICLES acknowledges the ongoing struggle for democracy in Ukraine, as well as the lasting impact of the Orange Revolution, both on the filmmaker and Ukraine.
This screening will be followed be a panel discussion on the meaning and impact of the Orange Revolution with the director and several Ukraine analysts participating. It will be moderated by Adrianna Melnyk of the Orange Circle.