This story cannot be told in a few words, it has always been complicated, tragic, unpredictable, but also beautiful. Because it was created by talented enthusiasts desperately in love with their work. It was they who collected the best equipment around the world and invented their own, created unparalleled historical costumes, collected and made props, scenery, pavilions with pools for special effects, restored weapons and gave a second life to vehicles. There is probably nothing that studio specialists would not have done for cinema, because the film studio was and remains a unique enterprise with a full cycle of film production.
The Kyiv Film Factory, which eventually became the world-famous Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio of Feature Films, was built on the then outskirts of Kyiv in just one year.
The project of all the buildings of the factory belongs to the Kyiv architect professor Valerian Rykov.
The decision to build a film factory in Kyiv was made on February 12, 1926 at a meeting of the Presidium of the Kyiv District Executive Committee.
The first films of the studio
Today, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Feature Film Studio is a real gem in the center of Kyiv. Five shooting pavilions are located on 16 hectares of territory.
The film studio has domestic and foreign filming equipment, a large collection of game costumes, five tonateliers, a unique pyrotechnic shop, a transport shop with modern and retro cars and many others.
The territory of the film studio is adorned by an unparalleled Dovzhenko garden, which has been cared for by many generations of the studio residents.
Among the achievements of the film studio are awards from 75 International and 65 All-Union film festivals, 19 state and 9 republican prizes, awards from republican, zonal and youth film forums. There is also the highest award of the American Film Academy, which was won by the film "Rainbow" by Mark Donskoy.
The film "Earth" by Oleksandr Dovzhenko was recognized as one of the 12 best films in the world at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958.
Yuri Illenko's film "The White Bird with a Black Mark" won the Gold Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1971, and later the "Silver Sirens" award at the International Film Festival in Sorrento (Italy). His film "Swan Lake: The Zone" received the highest award of the film press at the Cannes International Film Festival - the FIPRESSI award.
Високої оцінки здобули роботи Романа Балаяна: «Польоти уві сні та наяву» –Державна премія СРСР, «Оберігай мене, мій талісман» – Золотий приз МКФ в Авеліно (Італія), приз «Золотий тюльпан» на Міжнародному кінофестивалі у Стамбулі.
Державною премією України імені Т. Шевченка були нагороджені «Тіні забутих предків» (1964, реж. С. Параджанов), «Гадюка» (1967, реж. В. Івченко), «Родина Коцюбинських» (1971, реж. Т. Левчук), «В бій ідуть тільки “старики”» (1973), «Ати-бати, йшли солдати…» (1977; обидва – реж. Л. Биков), «Женці» (1979, реж. В. Денисенко).
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Майбутнє кіностудії міцно пов’язано з її славетним минулим.