An evening of wine, music, and cinema to fund humanitarian relief in Ukraine and mark the centennial of Ukraine's renegade film studio VUFKU

Admission with donation (£10/£5)

 This autumn Cambridge comes together to celebrate the defiant independence of Ukrainian culture with a series of fundraising film events in support of humanitarian relief in Ukraine, whose citizens are under brutal attack by forces of the Russian Federation.  

TVUFKU — the All-Ukrainian Photo-Film Administration — was a ground-breaking film studio established in 1922. Responsible for such renowned classics as Dziga Vertov’s Man with the Movie Camera and Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s Earth, VUFKU was the most successful entrepreneurial film studio in the Soviet Union before its closure by Stalin in 1930. Its legacy was almost completely effaced from the history of global cinema. 

 ‘On 3 November, we’ll walk through the grounds of the Museum with wine and refreshments and encounter scenes from VUFKU's classic films amid turbines and steam engines,’ said Dr Rory Finnin, Associate Professor of Ukrainian Studies. ‘Then we’ll proceed to the Museum's Pye Building for a screening of Oleksandr Dovzhenko's Earth with a rousing new soundtrack by “ethnic chaos” band DakhaBrakha.’ 

 Co-organiser Tony Jones of Cambridge Film Projects promises ‘a memorable evening of film and culture in support of an urgent and important cause.’ 

 The suggested donation for admission is £10 (£5 for students). With millions of Ukrainians resisting daily aerial attacks from Russian missiles and Iranian drones, the organisers ask guests to be as generous as possible. All proceeds will go to WithUkraine.org, an online global platform vetted by Cambridge Ukrainian Studies and built by the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom to provide efficient and effective humanitarian relief to families on the ground in Ukraine.  

 Donors outside of Cambridge or unable to attend are encouraged to buy a ticket to sponsor students and refugees to partake in the event in their stead. Tickets are available here. 

 This special event is organised by Cambridge Film Projects and Cambridge Ukrainian Studies, an academic centre at the University of Cambridge, with the support of the British Council and Ukrainian Institute and in cooperation with the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Centre, Kyiv.