Kira Muratova and Sergey Danchenko

Kira Muratova (1934-2018) was an award-winning film director, a screenwriter and an actress, known for her distinctive directorial style. She became a member of the
National Academy of Arts of Ukraine in 1997.

Muratova's films were censored heavily in the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, Muratova emerged as one of the leading figures in contemporary cinema and built a remarkable film career from the 1960s onwards. Her work has been described as one of the most distinctive and exceptional oeuvres of cinematic world-making.

In 1990, her film "The Asthenic Syndrome" won the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at the Berlinale. In 1994, she was awarded the Leopard of Honour for her life oeuvre at The Locarno International Film Festival (Switzerland) and in 2000, she received the Andrzej Wajda Freedom Award. In 1997, her film "Three Stories" was entered into the 47th Berlin International Film Festival.

Muratova was considered the most idiosyncratic contemporary Ukrainian film director. Her works can be regarded as postmodern, employing eclecticism, parody, discontinuous editing, disrupted narration and intense visual and sound stimuli, and her 'bitter humour, reflecting a violent, loveless, morally empty society'.

The selected films by Muratova are:● Brief Encounters, director (1967)● The Asthenic Syndrome, director (1989)● The Sentimental Policeman, director (1992)● Three Stories, director (1997)● Minor People, director (2001)● Eternal Return, director (2012)

Sergey Danchenko (1937-2001) was an outstanding artistic director and a chief director of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre. He became a member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine in 1996.

As a director of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, Sergey Danchenko staged more than 60 performances in Ukraine and abroad: "Stolen Happiness" by Franko (1979), "Visit of the Old Lady" by Durrenmatt (1983), "Aeneid" by Kotlyarevsky (1986), "Pathetic Sonata" by Kulish (1993), "King Lear" by Shakespeare (1996-1997) and others.

Over his lifetime, he received the following awards and prizes:● People's Artist of the USSR (1977, 1988)● State Prize of the USSR (1980) ● Taras Shevchenko National Prize (1978) for staging the performance "The Rear" by Zarudny ● "Kyiv Pectoral" Prize in the nomination "For a significant contribution to theatrical art" (1991-1992)

Danchenko travelled around the world with his theatre troupe. His performances are famous not only in Ukraine, but also in Austria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Poland and Slovakia. Sergey Danchenko left a significant imprint in the history of theatre arts and artistic direction.