Easter Sunday: FILM.UA Group and «Mavka. The Forest Song» project Become Partners in Organizing an Easter Celebration
FILM.UA Group and Animagrad studio became partners in organizing an Easter festivity to be held on April 16 in Starokyivska mountain. The campaign initiators are Ivan Honchar Museum, the national folklore center (its experts consult the creators of Mavka. The Forest Song), and National Museum of Ukrainian History.
The authors of Mavka. The Forest Song, along with the original source The Forest Song by Lesya Ukrainka, actively use rich authentic material, i.e. traditions, customs, rituals and symbols of Ukrainian folklore. They have taken up the mission to promote it not only via the film itself but also through social activities.
That is why Easter as one of the most significant festivities can become a starting point for many Ukrainians to get closer to Ukrainian folklore and traditional values.
According to the experts, the main attribute of traditional games for Easter is Hoydalka (the swing). That is why we supported Honchar Museum in its idea to construct a Hoydalka especially for the event. Animagrad team will decorate it with ribbons, ornaments and other attributes in “Mavka style” – we invite everyone, young and old, to swing on it!
In ancient times, such hoydalkas were put in villages and cities, and the main festivities and parties evolved around those. Apart from an obvious entertaining function, hoydalkas had some ritual significance as well, i.e. purifying humans by air to improve their physical and of course spiritual health.
The Easter festivity will be held on April 16 at 5 locations next to the National Museum of Ukrainian History. The guests will sing vesnyankas and hayivkas (spring ritual songs) and do reels; fun games in traditional spirit are prepared for children and delicious paskas (Easter cakes) will be shared by all participants, topped off with Ukrainian folk music played by popular folk bands.
Easter is a family holiday. Join us with your nearest and dearest to feel connected to the ancient cultural tradition, familiarize yourself with rich Ukrainian folklore and simply have a great time. The warmest impressions and the brightest photos will stay with you in memory of this day: we’ll publish the pictures on Animagrad and Mavka. The Forest Song pages in social networks.
We are waiting for you this Sunday, from 1 till 5 PM in Starokyivska mountain, opposite the Museum of Ukrainian History at 2, Vladimirskaya street.
Information note. Mavka. The Forest Song is a feature animation strip by Ukrainian studio Animagrad (FILM.UA Group), which is now in development stage. The cartoon is created based on a play with the same title by Lesya Ukrainka and also on Ukrainian myths and cultural traditions. The experts of leading ethnographic institutions – Department of Folklore Studies in Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, Ivan Honchar Museum, Museum of Ukrainian Fashion History – work together with the film crew on the interpretation of Ukrainian myths, legends, beliefs, rituals and visual culture in a unique animated world of Mavka. The world-renowned musicians from Dakha Brakha work on the soundtrack.
Mavka. The Forest Song won the 9th competition of Ukrainian State Film Agency in September 2016 and obtained state financing in the amount of 30 per cent from the total budget. Preliminarily, the premiere of Mavka. The Forest Song in Ukrainian cinemas is scheduled for late 2018 or early 2019.
