Ivan Vasylyovych Mykolaichuk (Ukrainian: Іван Васильович Миколайчук; 15 June 1941 – 3 August 1987) was a Ukrainian actor, producer, and screen writer.

Ivan Mykolaichuk
Іван Миколайчук
Mykolaichuk as Cossack Vasyl in The Lost Deed
Born(1941-06-15)15 June 1941
Died3 August 1987(1987-08-03) (aged 46)
Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
NationalityUkrainian
Alma materKarpenko-Karyi Memorial National University of Theatrical Arts
OccupationFilm industry
Years active1964–1987
Known forActing, filmmaking
TitleDistinguished Artist of Ukrainian SSR
SpouseMaria Karpiuk
AwardsLenin's Komsomol Prize of Ukrainian SSR (1967)
Shevchenko State Prize of Ukrainian SSR (1988)

He is best known for playing the Hutsul Ivan in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964), based on Mykhailo Kotsyubynsky's book of the same name. He received the Komsomol prize of Ukraine in 1967, and the title of Meritorious Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1968. He posthumously received the Shevchenko National Prize.[1]

Biography

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Ivan Vasylovych Mykolaichuk was born in a village of Chortoryia (Kitsman Raion) in Western Ukraine during World War II in a family of peasants. Mykolaichuk graduated from a high school of the neighboring village of Brusnytsia (Kitsman Raion). In 1957, he finished the Chernivtsi Music College and in 1961 he graduated from the theater-studio of the Chernivtsi Music-Drama Theater of Kobylyanska. On 29 August 1962, Mykolaichuk married an actress of the theater (later the People's Artist of Ukraine) Maria Karpiuk.[2]

In 1963–1965 he studied in the Karpenko-Karyi Memorial Kyiv Institute of Theatrical Arts (instructed by Viktor Ivchenko). During those years, Ivan debuted in the Leonid Osyka's movie Dvoye (The two).

His films were often controversial and suppressed by the Soviet authorities; sometimes his films were banned from being screened by the KGB. Due to incidents with the Parajanov's film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors Mykolaichuk was banned from film industry for some five years by the party authorities being recognized as too nationalistic and a person of hostile ideology. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, which received the Gold Prize of the 7th Moscow International Film Festival in 1971, was perceived almost as a hostile attack by nationalistic forces.[3]

In 1979 with the help of Vladimir Ivashko, who worked as the secretary of ideological work in the Kharkiv Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Mykolaichuk was given permission to direct the film Babylon XX, his directorial debut.

Mykolaichuk died in August 1987 at the age of 46. His house in Chortoryia has since been turned into a museum. He left a lasting legacy on Ukrainian film. Many consider him to be the greatest actor in the history of Ukrainian film. He also inspired other Ukrainian artists, actors, singers and writers who were searching for their Ukrainian identity in the Soviet era.

Filmography

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Source:[4]

Actor
Year Title Medium Role Notes
1964 Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors Film Hutsul Ivan Lenin Komsomol Prize of Ukraine (1967)
1964 The Dream Film Taras Shevchenko
1965 The Viper Film White Guardian Brykin
1966 Wild Grass Film Davyd Motuzka
1967 Two deaths Short
1967 Kyiv Melodies Documentary composer
1968 Scouts Film Viktor Kurhanov
1968 The Stone Cross Film Mykola
1968 Mistake of Honoré de Balzac Film Levko (jockey-serf)
1968 Annychka Film Hutsul Roman
1971 Zakhar Berkut Film Liubomyr
1971 Commisars Film Hryhoriy Hromov
1971 White Bird with Black Mark Film Petro Dzvonar
1971 Liberation III: Direction of the Main Blow Film Sergeant Savchuk
1971 Lady from Berendei Land Film Rei
1971 I Go To You Film Painter
1972 Treta sled slantzeto Film Bayan
1972 The Lost Deed Film Cossack Vasyl
1973 Contrary to Everything Film Ioko
1973 When person smiled Film Oleksiy
1974 About Vitya, Masha, and marines Film Vakula
1974 Maryna Film conductor
1975 Novella About a Woman Film writer
1975 Waves of the Black Sea Film Terentiy
1975 The Channel Film Zaychenko
1977 The troubled month of Veresen Film Gnat
1978 The Sea Film Simokhyn
1978 The redemption of sins of others Film Rusyn
1978 Under the Constellation Gemini Film Aircraft crew member
1979 Babylon XX Film Fabian
1979 More Film
1981 Such Late, Such Warm Autumn Film Hryhor Korchak
1981 The Forest Song. Nymph Film Spirit of Forest / Uncle Leo
1982 The Return of Batterfly Film Anton Krushelnytsky
1983 On the edge of the sword Film General Turchyn
1983 Myrhorod and its Inhabitants TV movie Kurochka
1984 The Legend of Princess Olga Film Great Prince Vladimir the Great
1986 Na ostriye mecha Film
1986 Zhmenyaks Film Pavlo Zhmenyak
2018 Kaminnyy khrest Film Mikola (final film role)
Producer
Year Title Notes
1979 Babylon XX All-Union Film Festival in Dushanbe (1980) - Best Director
1981 Such Late, Such Warm Autumn
Writer
Year Title Notes
1971 White Bird with Black Mark
1974 To Dream and to Live
1977 The Unsociable Man
1978 Under the Constellation Gemini
1979 Babylon XX
1981 So Late and Warm Autumn
1986 And Memory Will Recall in the Sounds
1989 Fables About Ivan

Accolades

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References

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  1. ^ Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 478–479. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
  2. ^ Link about Mykolaychuk and his mother, Kateryna (in English)
  3. ^ Українська Шара
  4. ^ List of films. Archived 2018-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
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