The theft of the film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by the Russians: we tell you what happened

"Shadows of forgotten ancestors"/Still from the film

Ukrainian diplomats appealed to the French authorities after the organizers of the “Russian film” festival in Paris included in the program the cult Ukrainian film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Serhii Paradzhanov.

At the festival, which takes place in Paris and Tavern near the French capital, the tape is shown under the name “Fiery Horses”. This is reported by the Embassy of Ukraine in France.

The embassy announced a flagrant case of crime and misappropriation of Ukrainian cinematographic heritage by the organizers.

Cultural appropriation, or simply put, theft of someone else's cultural heritage, is traditionally part of the Russian hybrid arsenal. The competent authorities of France have been contacted regarding a blatant case of such appropriation by the organizers of the “Russian film” festival in Paris, who decided to include in their program the emblematic film of Ukrainian cinema, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Serhiy Paradzhanov, the embassy reported.

The Ukrainian Cultural Center in France pointed out that “culture continues to be used cynically to legitimize Russian aggression”. It is obvious that, despite the seemingly formal change of emphasis by the organizers of the festival, their methods remain largely unchanged, the center emphasized.

The Russian film festival is being held in France for the 10th time. It is organized by the Other Russia association. This year, the festival was dedicated to the memory of Oleksii Navalny.

The film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” is an adaptation of Mykhailo Kotsyubynskyi's novel of the same name, which was released in 1965. After its premiere, the film gained world fame and was shown at festivals in Venice, Barcelona, ​​New York and London.

This pioneering film for its time laid the foundations of Ukrainian poetic cinema, and after the action against the arrests of Ukrainian of intellectuals became one of the main symbols of the dissident movement and the struggle of Ukrainians against the Soviet regime