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.

Supported by

Made by CASE digital studio
Lost Arrow

+  LOST  +

The Girl From the Deck

The Girl From the Deck

Watch out

1928, First Film Studio VUFKU (Odesa), 6 parts / 1,444 m

Director:
 Oleksandr Perehuda
Scriptwriter:
 Ivan Leonov
Оператор:
 Albert Kuhn, Yakiv Kulish
Artist:
 Serhii Khudiakov, Volodymyr Miuller
Cast:
 Mykola Kuchynskyi (a captain), Oleksandr Smiranin (Smirnov, the first officer), Dmytro Kadnikov (Shataba, the second officer), Milli Taut-Korso (Olia, a female fisher), Ivan Malikov-Elvorti (Fedka Shpak, a helm), Anton Klymenko (a sailor), Mykola Savvatieiev (a sailor), T. Herasymov, A[rsenii] Kuts (sailors)

The plot is based on the short novel The Woman at Sea by the Russian writer Alexey Novikov-Priboy, which tells a story of a woman who has won the right to become a sailor.

Sailors of a large sailing ship save a female fisher Olia, whose boat sank in the open sea. The girl stays on the ship that sets sail on a long voyage. Over time, Olia begins doing the same work as other sailors, and during a storm she behaves like a real sea-wolf.

The capable girl attracts attention of the second officer Shataba, and he starts teaching her naval skills. The girl’s presence on the ship causes discomfort among the crew. The situation settles peacefully, when the crew members find out that Olia and the captain’s mate love each other. Olia is sent to study at the nautical school. Later, after the graduation, the girl navigator goes on her first independent voyage.

The film is lost.

The film was released on 19 November 1928 in Kyiv and on 11 March 1929 in Moscow.