The Implementation of the Cinefication of Ukraine in the 1920s

Author

Rosliak Roman

a Ph.D. in Art Studies, an associate professor, a leading research fellow at the Screen, Stage Arts and Culturology Department of M. Rylskyi Institute of Art Studies, Folkloristics and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5432-2895

The Implementation of the Cinefication of Ukraine in the 1920s

Abstract

The article analyzes the implementation of cinematization in Ukraine in the 1920s. The process of cinematization intensified after the introduction of a new economic policy (1921) and the creation of the All-Ukrainian Photo and Cinema Administration (AUPCA) the following year. The film department faced the problem of centralizing the dispersed film industry. A special place was given to cinemas, which were to become the basis of the AUPCA’s economic base. Despite resistance from local authorities, at the end of 1922 the majority of cinemas were transferred to the AUPCA. In 1924, cinemas were exempted from paying rent for two years; after this period, 110 cinemas were transferred to the AUPCA’s fixed capital by a decision of the highest authorities. The cinemas were divided into stateowned, operated by AUPCA, and commercial, leased by various organizations and individuals. The emergence of a solvent audience contributed to the development of a wide network of commercial cinemas, where prices were higher, but the repertoire was based on popular foreign films.

In the 1920s, the workers’ club network was actively developing. Ticket prices in workers’ clubs were relatively low, but the repertoire was based mainly on Soviet-produced films. At the same time, some workers’ clubs tried to switch to commercial principles in order to gain more profit (socalled exploitation clubs).

At this time, the cinematization of rural areas was actively (though somewhat haphazardly) carried out. Unlike Russia, where mobile film projection units were used, Ukraine preferred stationary ones. At first, the filmization of rural areas was carried out at the expense of the AUPCA. Later, other organizations joined in; they often pursued their own interests, trying to cover the most financially attractive regions. Therefore, during the 1920s, it was not possible to create a clear system of rural cinematization.

In order to accumulate funds, plan their distribution and use, in early 1930 the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR adopted a resolution “On the film funds of the Ukrainian SSR”, according to which special film funds were created: central, Autonomous Moldavian SSR, district, and municipal funds.

Keywords

cinematization, AUPCA, new economic policy, cinemas, workers’ clubs, cinemas.

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