VUFKU (All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration) existed for less than nine years (1922-1930), but it managed to release over 140 fiction films, several hundreds of non-fiction films and newsreels, dozens of animations, gain fame of “Ukrainian Hollywood,” and take under its control all aspects of the cinematic process – filmmaking, distribution, film press, propaganda, and education. From over 140 full-length fiction films made by VUFKU, about 60 films are considered lost. A lot of the surviving films have come down to us incomplete (without one or more parts).

The website VUFKU. Lost&Found is the first online collection of Dovzhenko-Centre’s media library and is perhaps the only online resource providing comprehensive information on VUFKU.

The mission of the VUFKU. Lost&Found project is to search and return to Ukraine the lost films of the 1920s. Traces of some of the lost films of that time can be found in international archives. Meanwhile, we are collecting archive materials about the lost films, restoring their contents, learning the context of their release.

These searches and analysis, restoration of films and their return to the cultural circulation require financial support. Donating to our fundraising campaign, which will start in October 2019, you will be able to contribute to the restoration of Ukrainian cinema.

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The Eyes That Saw

The Eyes That Saw

Naive Tailor / Motele Shpindler / Motele-idealist

1928, First Film Studio VUFKU (Odesa), 6 parts / 1,901 m

Director:
 Volodymyr Vilner
Scriptwriter:
 Solomon Lazurin
Cameraman:
 Borys Zaveliev
Artist:
 Yosyp Shpinel
Cast:
 Matvii Liarov (Shklianskyi), Anna Horicheva (his wife), I. Kaverberh (Meyer, their son), I. Mindlin (Motele Shpindler, a tailor), Yu. Rozumovska (Dvoira, his wife), Yuliia Solntseva (Rosa, his sister), Diaharin (Kolotov, an intendant), Mariia Diusimetier (his wife), A. (O.?) Symonov (a general), Oleksandr Indlin (a foreman of Shklianskyi’s factory), A. (?) Vabnyk (Shklianskyi’s lackey), L. Lanskoi (Motele’s father), A. Meshcherska (Motele’s mother), A/nia?/ Fisher (Ania, Motele’s daughter), Dobrovolskyi (a feldwebel), K. Radmin (a military doctor), Mykola Kuchynskyi (a police officer), M. Zaslavskyi (Moisha) 

The film is based on Sholem Aleichem’s short story Motele Shpindler, Motele-Idealist.

The poor Jewish tailor Motele lives in one of small towns. When World War I starts, the poor Motele is mobilised to the army, while the rich Jewish factory owner Shklianskyi makes a profit from military orders. Moisha, a worker from Shklianskyi’s factory, Motele’s tenant, helps his needy family. But he, as a troublemaker and rebel, is fired and also sent to the front. The official propaganda of that time blames Jewish people for all the troubles, and pogroms begin. During one of them, Motele’s mother and wife are killed. However, Shklianskyi’s family was not harmed, as rich people are defended.

In 1929, the film was screened in New York (USA).

The film is lost.

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