Conclusions: Cinema. Stanislav Tarasenko

For the third year in a row, at the end of December, the online media Svidomi conducts summary broadcasts to tell what has changed in Ukraine over the year in various areas: the military, culture, medicine, education, judiciary and politics.

We will discuss 2022 in the cinema together with film critic Stanislav Tarasenko.

Challenges.

The last three years have been the most difficult for cinemas due to the pandemic and full-scale invasion. Attendance of moviegoers has halved. Last year, there were 650-700 cinema screens in Ukraine (the number of halls in a cinema), now there are 350.

After the beginning of the full-scale war, the first cinemas opened in late March and mid-April. Today they cope with a lot of challenges - air raids, reports of mining, and cancellation of screenings.

Another challenge for the Ukrainian film industry is that a large number of people associated with the industry are at the frontline or have been killed.

Streaming platforms have also become challenging - famous directors are moving to them. Therefore, we can expect that there will be fewer amateur films in the future, but the number of superhero blockbusters will increase.

Another problem is piracy. It needs to be fought, but streaming or cinemas will not solve the problem. However, piracy is also an opportunity to watch retrospective films.

Expectations for the next year 

It is currently impossible to predict what the situation will be. In previous years, it was expected that the situation with cinema attendance would improve after the end of the pandemic, but a full-scale invasion began. If today's cinemas "go to zero", it is already good.

Film production in Ukraine

December remains the most profitable month for cinemas. This is due to the films that are released at this time. Last year, Spider-Man 3 was popular at the box office, and this year - Avatar. In Kyiv and Lviv, the most popular films were Sniper and I Work at the Cemetery.

The Ukrainian film industry is focused on finishing those films that were shot before the full-scale war.

In the near future, no one will shoot films in large quantities. This is due to the fact that most Ukrainian films are subsidised. The Ukrainian budget allocates little money for culture, and subsidies will be scarce.

In the future, documentaries will prevail in Ukraine, possibly series.

The most anticipated films of the next year

Pamfir and Luxembourg, Luxembourg. This is the vector to be guided by in the Ukrainian film industry. So far, there was no alternative to these films. However, Ukrainians love trendy movies. 

Opportunities for Ukrainian cinema at the Oscars

Now Ukrainian cinema has many opportunities to get to the top because the war gave a certain impetus - this happened after the Revolution of Dignity. But for a Ukrainian film to qualify for an Oscar, many details must be taken into account; in particular, the film must be understandable and trendy in the West. In addition, the Oscar depends on a large number of factors that we cannot influence. 

Top of the latest films released in 2022 from Stanislav Tarasenko