Pittsburgh Premier THE FOURTH WAVE by Victoria Melnykova followed by Closing Night Reception co-sponsored by the New Ukrainian Wave, Pittsburgh Branch

In conjunction with the documentary, Dr. Taras Filenko will perform music by Mykola Lysenko and Lev Revutsky. Dr. Taras Filenko - pianist, organist and musicologist - studied music in Donets, Kyiv and Moscow. He was awarded a degree for piano performance in 1982, followed in 1989 by an advanced degree in the history of music from the National Academy of Music of Ukraine. He earned a second doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998.

Another highlight includes Ms. Tetyana Khmelevska’s performance of Ukrainian song Nich yaka misyachna accompanied by Dr. Filenko. Tetyana is a graduate of the National Academy of Music of Ukraine and sang with Ukraine’s Legendary “Dumka” Choir for over 25 years. In addition, Adriana Dobrzycka, Community Outreach and Inclusion Manager from Vibrant Pittsburgh will join us that evening.

Dr. Svitlana Maksymenko from the Department of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh will introduce the film. The Fourth Wave is a feature documentary about the so-called Fourth Wave of Ukrainian emigration to the West that started after the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991. The film focuses on the fate of the Ukrainian composer Volodymyr Zubytsky who could not realize his creative genius in an independent Ukraine and had to move to Italy. His story is presented as typical of a massive talent and brain drain that has occurred in Ukraine over the last two decades. Thousands of highly educated and uniquely talented Ukrainians contrary to their will had to leave their homeland in search of a happier life in the West. Some of them currently reside in the Pittsburgh region.

For more information regarding "Hoverla" Ukrainian American Film Festival, please visit www.ucowpa.org