The agency explained why it is taking away a number of powers from the Center, and commented on the information about the dismissal of its employees.
The State Agency of Ukraine on Cinema issues explained his decision on the reorganization of the Dovzhenko Center, stressing that the order does not provide for its liquidation. This is stated in the corresponding statement published by the press service of Derzhkino.
They noted that there is no question of dismissal or dissolution of employees of the institution. According to labor legislation, they should be offered similar positions in the new structure. People will be able to make their own decisions: to continue working or to transfer to another organization.
“During the reorganization of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Center, three independent (separate) legal entities will be formed and all employees will be able to get a job in one of these according to their specialty organizations,” the statement reads.
The reorganization will mean the separation of the state enterprise “Ukrainian Animation Studio” with the formation of a separate legal entity, as well as the transfer of powers to archive original film materials and film copies to the state institution “Scientific Center of Cinematography of Ukraine”.
According to the explanation, Dovzhenko – The center will continue to perform all other tasks and functions approved by its charter.
“This will allow the SE “National Oleksandr Dovzhenka Center” to pay more attention to the development of the museum business and film culture, to the organization of various events for its enrichment and dissemination,” Derzhkino believes.
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The statement added that the decision to create the “Ukrainian Animation Studio” was made in order to further develop national animation. According to the State Film Agency, our country has a very limited number of such studios, and all operating ones are privately owned.
In particular, the department said that the state-owned “Ukrainian Film Studio of Animated Films”, founded in 1959, was liquidated in 2019. Then it was attached to the Dovzhenko Center.
Now it is emphasized that the Center does not produce animated films, receiving income only from the state and renting non-residential premises. In addition, its structure was not supplemented by a division dealing with the issue of animation. According to the statement, the institution does not use the property transferred to it for its intended purpose and has kept it in a closed room since 2019.
“Maintenance of non-residential premises with an area of 982.2 square meters. m., the surrounding territory is carried out at the expense of the state enterprise “National Cinematheque of Ukraine”. SE “National Center of Oleksandr Dovzhenka” excludes itself from the compensation of expenses related to the maintenance of these non-residential premises. Because of this, the National Cinematheque of Ukraine is forced to go to court in order to collect from the Dovzhenko Center the debt related to the maintenance of non-residential premises,” the message says.
According to Derzhkino, the Center's debt currently amounts to about 300,000 hryvnias, which leads to irrational spending of state funds. At the same time, they are convinced that the Ukrainian Animation Studio will “continue the glorious history of national animation” by becoming the legal successor of Ukranimafilm.
In addition, according to the State Agency for Cinema, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center is not an archival institution, according to legislative norms, and the statute defines the institution as a cultural institution.
Derzhkino also noted that the Film Fund belongs to the state and is not part of the property of the Center – the film collection was transferred to it for safekeeping. “The Center is only the custodian of the Film Fund, not the Film Fund itself and the archival institution created for this purpose,” the Agency said.
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At the same time, as noted, one of the tasks of the Scientific Center of Cinematography of Ukraine is to develop projects for the preservation of film heritage and the creation of a data bank of cinematographic information, its processing and distribution. This institution was reorganized specifically for the creation of the State Film Fund, which is impossible without transferring archiving powers to it.
“As a scientific institution, it can enjoy tax benefits in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine. That is, it will be a state institution that carries out archival and scientific research activities with the aim of developing the film fund, restoring, restoring and preserving works of national and world cinematographic heritage, and disseminating relevant information,” the State Film Agency concluded.
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Let us remind you that in March the staff of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center wrote an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko, and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Yury Kostyuk, in which he stated the threat of the destruction of the institution.
