Annychka
1968 · Soviet Union · 83 min
- Director
- Borys Ivchenko
- Screenplay
- Viktor Ivchenko
- Music
- Vadym Homoliaka
- Cinematography
- Nikolai Kulchitsky
- Production company
- Dovzhenko Film Studios
What it is about
Annychka is set in 1943, during the Second World War, in the Ukrainian Carpathians inhabited by the Hutsul community. The young Annychka is drawn into the violence of the conflict when she finds a wounded Red Army soldier in the forest. While she looks after him, a love story takes shape that clashes with the obligations and loyalties of a village divided by the occupation.
How it was made
The film was produced by Dovzhenko Film Studios in Ukraine and directed by Borís Ívchenko from a screenplay by Viktor Ivchenko. Nikolai Kulchitsky handled the cinematography and Vadym Homoliaka composed the music. Lyubov Rumyantseva leads the cast as Annychka, alongside Grigore Grigoriu as the soldier Andrei and Ivan Mykolaichuk as Roman Derych. It was shot in Russian and is usually classed as a Soviet-Ukrainian co-production.
Reception and legacy
In 1969 it received the Golden Tower award at the Phnom Penh Film Festival in Cambodia, and its director won a special prize at the Kyiv Film Festival. According to available figures, 25.1 million people saw it in the Soviet Union in 1969 alone. Its reach beyond that context is poorly documented in the sources consulted.
Stills
Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.