Oleksandr Dovzhenko

Dovzhenko was renowned for his innovative approach to editing, which helped create a distinct rhythm and mood in his films. Dovzhenko regarded editing as a crucial tool of cinematic expressiveness, enabling the conveyance of complex emotions and ideas.

He used editing to enhance emotional moments, establish symbolic connections, and skillfully combine visual imagery with lyrical elements and music. His experiments with form, rhythm, and pacing allowed for dynamic scenes and unique visuals. 

Dovzhenko was a master of visual poetry and landscape depiction. The aesthetics of landscape in his works proved to be a significant element contributing to the mood and symbolism in his films. 

He skilfully utilized nature to convey emotions and create a profound connection between characters and their surroundings. His visually captivating and symbolic landscapes helped underscore the film's themes and lend them a poetic dimension, enriching the emotional experience for the audience.

With the beginning of WWII, Dovzhenko was evacuated to Ashgabat, where he volunteered to join the army as a correspondent for the Red Army newspaper. In 1943, he completed the film Ukraine on Fire, later banned by Stalin. 

Dovzhenko was not allowed to return to Ukraine, so until his last days he lived in Moscow, working for Mosfilm. Yearning for Ukraine, he wrote in his diary: "I will die in Moscow, never having seen Ukraine! Before my death, I will ask Stalin to have my heart removed from my chest before they burn me in the crematorium and bury it in the native soil, in Kyiv, somewhere on a hill over the Dnipro."