On 8 February, Ukraine released the film The Other Franko, about the youngest of Ivan Franko’s sons, Petro, an extraordinary and multifaceted man whose fate is not fully known even to his closest relatives. The film, which is undoubtedly intended to raise interest in both the individual and his generation as a whole, was supposed to be released in 2020 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence and the Franko Days. However, sometimes things happen differently. And the film’s wide-screen premiere was postponed until February this year.
Despite everything, Drohobych was lucky. The town of Kotermak hosted a pre-premiere screening of the film at the end of May 2022, which was personally attended by the lead actor, actor Viacheslav Dovzhenko. The pre-premiere screening was initiated by the Department of Culture and Tourism Development of Drohobych City Council, in particular Lesia Tatarska. According to her, before Drohobych, the film was only presented in Khmelnytskyi. Thus, the city of Kotermak became the second city where the audience saw the film about the life, views and conscious position of the little-known son of Franko.
The pre-premiere screening of the film took place at the People’s House and brought together government officials, educators, young people and many ordinary connoisseurs of quality Ukrainian cinema.
The film’s protagonist, Viacheslav Dovzhenko, not only told the audience about the peculiarities of the film’s filming, but also about its idea. He thanked the audience for the invitation to Drohobych and noted that he himself had not yet seen the film on the big screen. So the screening in Drohobych is significant for him.
I am presenting the film The Other Franko, which tells the story of a hero who is completely unknown to many people – Kamenyar’s son Petro. He was one of the founders of the Plast organisation, a pilot and the founder of aviation in the Galician Army, and a member of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR. Today, we live in a difficult time – so we must appreciate every day lived in peace and unconditionally value our history and culture. For centuries, the Moscow horde has been stealing our heritage from us, erasing our memory, and it is our mission to make sure that as many people as possible know about heroes like Petro Franko,” said Vyacheslav Dovzhenko at the pre-premiere screening in Drohobych.
The Other Franko tells the story of the events of June 1941. The Franko estate in Lviv has an unexpected guest. It is Petro Franko’s old friend Andriy Hryshchuk. Side by side, they went through the most turbulent years and events. Together they stood at the origins of the Plas scouting organisation, they fought for the love of one woman, they were two military pilots, they escaped from a burning plane, they got out of captivity, and they prevented children from starving to death in Soviet Kharkiv. Now the world is in flames of the Second World War. Who will play what role in history? The story of friendship, rivalry, love, and the confession of a conscious person’s views – all this is in the film The Other Franko.