FILM.UA Group and film director Olha Navrotska have joined the Etnika: Ukrainian Arts and Crafts initiative, which holds is of great national promotional significance.
As part of this promotional campaign, Olha and her team created incredibly sensual videos that showcase the customs of Kosiv painted ceramics, glassmaking, Reshetylivka white-on-white embroidery, and pysanka art.
The idea behind the videos is to show how ancient crafts, which are part of our authentic culture, live and develop today. They demonstrate how modern craftsmen and designers use ancient technologies to create unique, stylish things that adorn the daily lives of Ukrainians, giving them a sense of connection to their roots and a touch of heritage. That is why the series has a unifying title: It Was, It Is and It Will Be.
“Roots are our foundation. It is the roots that define the nation and its future. That's why I see my participation in projects aimed at popularizing our heritage as a kind of mission. And I keep saying that we don't need to invent anything for this, since we already have everything. We have all those beautiful and powerful things. All we need is to show them,” film director Olha Navrotska tells the story behind the project.
The videos were created in both Ukrainian and English to take our messages global and show our traditions to the world. For centuries, Russia has appropriated our history and heritage, so it is more important than ever that the world sees Ukraine not only through the prism of a fierce struggle for freedom and independence, but also as a country with a rich and authentic cultural heritage.
In 2019, the tradition of Kosiv painted ceramics was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, while other folk crafts (in particular, Reshetylivka white-on-white embroidery and pysanka art) were nominated for the inscription on this list.
The videos were created by
Director — Olha Navrotska
Director of Photography — Yurii Korol
Art Director — Iryna Kovalchuk (Oselya)
Producers — Anna Yelisieieva, Andrii Ryzvaniuk
Production Manager — Mykola Kostiuchenko
Editing and Color — Andrii Kolesnyk
Casting — Alina Marchuk
MUA and Hair — Kseniia Tyshchenko
Styling — Kateryna Vytvitska
Photographer — Roman Chyhrynets
Second Cinematographer — Oleksandr Radomskyi
Gaffer — Oleksandr Kazakov
Location — Iryna Kovalchuk
The video includes the God Bless song (from the Basics.Wedding series): Maria Kvitka · Anastasia Poletnieva · Maksym Berezhniuk · Oleh Moroz · Folk art text creatively adapted by M.K. Kvitka
Technical Support — PATRIOT Rental
Special Thanks: Oselya, Must Have, Vsi Svoi
