This is a film documenting the Bradford branch of the Association of Ukrainian Women in Great Britain’s (AUW) annual commemoration of Ukrainian Heroines. It was made by the Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) but there is no credit to them on the film. The commemoration of Ukrainian Women took the form of a performance known as an akademiya held on the stage in the hall at Bradford Ukrainian Cultural Centre and comprised reading, poetry recitals, choral and dramatic performances...

This is a film documenting the Bradford branch of the Association of Ukrainian Women in Great Britain’s (AUW) annual commemoration of Ukrainian Heroines. It was made by the Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) but there is no credit to them on the film. The commemoration of Ukrainian Women took the form of a performance known as an akademiya held on the stage in the hall at Bradford Ukrainian Cultural Centre and comprised reading, poetry recitals, choral and dramatic performances performed by branch members, and is usually all in Ukrainian. As this is an akademiya, there is no audience applause during the performance or at the end. The AUW members who take part all wear traditional Ukrainian embroidered blouses (usually white fabric with red and black or blue embroidery) unless wearing a costume for one of the dramatic performances. During the akademiya, the camera almost always stays focused on the stage to record the action taking place. The film has been edited so that each act in the akademiya is indicated by the opening or closing of the stage curtains. The stage is decorated with portraits of Ukrainian heroines, rushnyky (plural; singular - rushnyk: ritual cloths which are used decoratively around picture frames, furniture, lecterns etc.), the AUW Bradford Branch flag, floral arrangements and occasionally icons of the Virgin Mary. The poetry recitals and readings which form part of the akademiya are usually performed from behind a lectern. Microphones are used throughout. The majority of the AUW women performing are second generation Ukrainians. The film begins with views of engravings about Ravensbruck concentration camp extracted from a new book about the concentration camp by Olena Wityk Wojtowycz which are displayed in the hall. The camera shows people arriving into the dark hall and taking their seats, then a bell tolls. The camera pans to the front of the hall, where members of AUW are standing on stage dressed in white embroidered blouses and holding candles, with music playing. The stage backdrop is decorated with four framed photographs of women (Olha Kobilanska, Alla Horska, Olena Teliha, Olha Basarab), a framed icon of the Virgin Mary, a flag and a traditional Ukrainian grave called a mohyla. A large wreath of flowers is displayed at the front of the stage. The camera moves to the back of the hall, where a procession of women dressed in the same way and carrying a single flower walk to the front of the hall and on to the stage, paying their respects at the mohyla then joining the arc of women on the stage. The music stops and the women bow to the mohyla. They then begin to sing a choral version of the Lord’s Prayer, and at the end the curtains close. Then the scene switches to the curtains opening and Halyna Prodywus, chair of AUW Bradford, walks out and stands behind the lectern to give an opening address about the context of the anniversary and its importance in remembering those who gave their lives for a free Ukraine. She then asks everyone to stand for a minute’s silence. The programme continues with a number of items including three songs performed by the choir and pianist; a reading about Ukrainian heroines, including amongst others Lesiya Ukrayinka, Olha Basarab, Olena Teliha, female political prisoners who were imprisoned in gulags and concentration camps, women involved with the Ukrainian Underground and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (known by its acronym UPA – Ukrayinska Povstanska Armiya) - note, the stage is set with two mohylas. The programme continues with the performance of a play by members of AUW Manchester Branch. The main protagonist of the play is a woman named Sofia and plot concerns her involvement with the Ukrainian resistance, and features a narrator alongside the actors. The play has two scenes, the first set in a library or reading room, with a desk in the middle of the stage with a bookcase and cabinet behind it, and a house in Virsky region. The play concludes with the revelation that Sofia was murdered for her part in the resistance. The curtain closes on the play and reopens to show some of the cast who have reassembled on the stage to read the names of some of the many women who died for Ukraine. The finale of the akademiya is the performance of a song by the choir and pianist, after which all the performers assemble onstage. There is a short address about the exhibition of engravings of and the work of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organisations (WFUWO) and Lida Marczuk to create a permanent memorial for Ukrainian women imprisoned in Ravensbruck. Notice of a concert by the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) is given, and then the akademiya concludes with the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem. The next section of the film starts at 1 hr 29 mins 38 secs and documents a concert performed by members of the Bradford branch of the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM). The concert begins with a song by the CYM choir (all third-generation children) accompanied by Maria Danylczuk on piano. The choir are dressed in a mixture of CYM uniform and national costume. They sing the Masheruyut Vze Povstantsi (The Insurgents are Marching) before Stefan Jarotsky, chair of CYM in Bradford, takes to the stage to make an opening speech. He also awards badges to a group of CYMivtsi who have recently completed their CYM exams. The concert programme then continues with the following performances, each one is introduced by Stefan Jarotsky: three songs performed by CYMenyata; a kolomeyka danced by the younger boys and girls; Marko and Anna Danylczuk perform two pieces of music trumpet and piano; a kolomeyka danced by the younger children; a performance by the Orchestra (electric guitar, flute, keyboards and vocals); a polka danced by the young adults; the younger and older children perform two songs; the older children dance a hopak; the young women dance an unnamed dance; a comic sketch about a mother, her daughter and two naughty sons (the mother is performed by a man in drag); the younger and older children perform two songs - Oy Vidno Selo (Oh the Village) and Oy U Luzi Chervona Kalyna (The Red Viburnum in the Meadow) accompanied by Maria Danylczuk on piano. Stefan Jarotsky makes a closing speech and reminds attendees that the CYM AGM will be held the following week. He then invites Zenon Lastowiecki, chair of AUGB Bradford, onto the stage to make an announcement about a film which will be shown the following week which was made by the Ukrainian Congress in America about Stefan Bandera. The choir and audience all sing Vhoru Prapory (Raise the Flags) and the concert ends at 2 hrs 52 mins 36 secs.