OLEKSANDR DOVZHENKO: BECOMING A FILM DIRECTOR

The article highlights the main stages of Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s development as a film director. It is, in particular, about his preparation for work in the field of cinematography in Kharkiv and his first steps as a screenwriter and director at the Odesa Film Factory. In the articlethere is the emphasis on the fact that, living in the capital Kharkiv, the artist was fond of theatre art – he attends performances at the Ivan Franko Theatre, is interested in avant-garde art, especially Les Kurbas’s «Berezil» theatre, draws posters for new Ukrainian films, etc. Muchmore attention, in this study, is paid to Dovzhenko’s work at the Odesa Film Factory. It is emphasized that the artist’s first film comedies «Vasya the Reformer» and «Love’s Berries» were not very successful. Only his third film «The Diplomatic Pouch» was successful. And thefollowing films «Zvenyhora» (1927) and «Arsenal» (1928) became turning points for Dovzhenko; moreover, they largely determined his future creative face. However, the article emphasizes, that film director having declared with these films that a true master had come to the cinema, with «Arsenal» he finally set his political accents, irrevocably switching to the sideof the bolshevik government.