SSG Screening Series Presents: THE ORANGE CHRONICLES: A Personal Journey Through Ukraine's Orange Revolution, a documentary film by Damian Kolodiy and Peter Zielyk. LA Premiere May 31 at The Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills, CA.

    Website & Trailer
http://www.OrangeChronicles.com

/24-7PressRelease/ - NEW YORK, NY, May 23, 2007 - Director Damian Kolodiy, criss-crossed Ukraine 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.

Traveling 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.

There will be a Q&A moderated by film professor James Lane, The Executive Director of The Emerson College Los Angeles Center. Lane is the author of The Autobiographical Documentary in America from University of Wisconsin Press.

WHERE:
Beverly Hills - Fine Arts Theatre,
8556 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

WHEN: Thursday, May 31, 2007, 7:30pm

FREE TICKETS IF YOU RSVP NOW: RESERVE NOW for SSG Screening Series films at: [email protected]

PARKING: $2.00 Validated Theatre Parking at: 8484 Wilshire Blvd (Flynt
Communications building) The black tower at the South-East corner of
La Cienega and Wilshire / Bring parking stub to the Fine Arts Theatre
concession stand

CONTACT:
Bob Nuchow - Producer for Screening Services Group
Cell: (310) 562-4578
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.Studioscreenings.com

Dk Productions is based in New York City, and produces both documentary and narrative films in addition to providing all types of video shooting and editing.

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