Вавилон ХХ (1980)

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Babylon XX is a 1979 Ukrainian film of Dovzhenko Film Studios directed by Ivan Mykolaichuk in his directorial debut and starring an ensemble cast including Mykolaichuk, Lyubov Polishchuk, and Les Serdyuk as peasants struggling to adapt to life within a commune led by Soviet sailor Klym Synytsia. It is a loose film adaptation of the 1971 novel A Flock of Swans by Vasyl Zemliak, and depicts collectivization in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the transition from capitalism to communism in Ukraine.

Production

Screenwriting for Babylon XX began in 1977, including both Vasyl Zemliak (author of A Flock of Swans, which Babylon XX was inspired by) and Ivan Mykolaichuk. The process of screenwriting was based on a nativity scene, with separate parts of the script representing high and low culture. Further inspiration on directorial and camera work was taken from the works of Croatian naïve art painter Ivan Generalić.

Production was significantly hampered by the fact that many of the film's actors were also working in other roles while filming. Difficulty was also found in shooting night-time scenes, an issue resolved by cinematographer Yuriy Harmash with the usage of infrared photography. More generally posing a threat to the film's production was a crackdown on Ukrainian poetic cinema by the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Other, more minor incidents occurred during production. On one occasion, during the digging of a grave for one scene, the remains of a Cossack were discovered by Harmash, who said, "God will forgive us, but the Cossack even moreso."

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