Canadian Ps&Bs plan TV documentary (08/19/01)

Canadian Ps&Bs plan TV documentary

OTTAWA - The UCPBF has launched a new initiative: the production of a television documentary dealing with the contributions of Ukrainians in Canada. The purpose of the television production is to tell a broad segment of society what Canadians of Ukrainian ancestry have done in the arts, science, politics, sports, broadcasting and many other fields.

The video will celebrate more than 100 years of hard work and impressive results by members of the Ukrainian Canadian community.

Marilyn Dolenko, UCPBF secretary, started with a vision: "We need to reach young people, who might be part Ukrainian, or third-or fourth-generation Canadian. Many of these young people have not benefited from ties to the community and may suffer from a gap in their own cultural identity as a result. We want them to know and be proud of their heritage."

Ms. Dolenko who is the chair of UCPBF Documentary Working Group. The advisory members, who are either connected with film and television or have a very good understanding of Ukrainians in Canada, are Roman Melynk from CTV; Slawko Klimkiw, director of English-language programming at CBC; Eugene Zaraska and Zenia Stechishin; and Halya Kuchmij, a documentary filmmaker. To ensure continuity the executives of the UCPBF, Oksana Bashuk Hepburn, Peter Sorokan and Marilyn Dolenko, also are members of the group. They will continue to serve in this capacity after the UCPBF convention this October.

Several approaches to the documentary were considered: relating the contributions of Ukrainians to the different waves of immigration; moving along a chronological timeline; or focusing on sectors. Mr. Stechishin pointed out that much material had already been covered in other documentaries such as "The Scattering of Seeds" and that a fresh new approach was needed. We want to bring forward the stories of both familiar and less familiar Ukrainians whose contributions to this country over the past 100 years have set remarkable and lasting standards for all Canadians," said Ms. Hepburn, UCPBF president.

Since 1999, Ms. Dolenko, the project coordinator, with the experience in camera work and funding for television productions, has been working hard to give life to the documentary. Her biggest success was in finding an outstanding producer-director for the project in John Zaritsky, a professional filmmaker with an extensive and accomplished career in the documentary genre.

Mr. Zaritsky lives in Vancouver and has been making documentaries since 1977. He has won more than 30 awards, including an Academy Award for his 1982 documentary "Just Another Missing Kid," the story of a rich and powerful Ottawa family whose son disappeared on the way to summer school.

Mr. Zaritsky has produced a 60-page outline for the documentary, focusing on remarkable Ukrainians who are the heart of Canada's story. He commented: "Primarily, I am a storyteller; large complex issues will be told in this documentary through dramatic personal stories."

The UCPBF acknowledged initial donations to this important and much-needed initiative from the Taras Schevchenko Foundation for a sum of $10,000; the Saskatchewan Cable Network for $10,000; and the UCPBF for $5,000.

The UCPBF reported that the documentary outline has been submitted to the main networks, CBC, Global and CT. and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation has been approached for further funding.

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