Ivan Mykolaichuk

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

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 Honoured Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1968. He posthumously received the Shevchenko National Prize.

Biography 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.

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.

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

Source:

+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 (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 Lenin Komsomol Prize of the Ukrainian SSR (1967) Merited Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1968) Shevchenko State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR (1988 posthumously) for performance of roles of Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Paliychuk, Davyd Motuzka, Hryhoriy Hromov, Petro Dzvonar, Fabian, and Hryhoriy Korchak in films "Dream", "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", "Weed", "Commissars", "White Bird with Black Mark", "Babylon-XX", and "Such late, such warm Autumn"