Light From the East

1991. Glasnost. Perestroika. The Soviet Union opens its doors to the West. A troupe of young American actors from La Mama Theater in NY travels to Kyiv to participate in the first US/Ukrainian cultural exchange theater project in Soviet history. The play they are to perform is based on the life of Kurbas, a revolutionary Ukrainian theatre director, murdered in one of Stalin's purges. As rehearsals progress, Gorbachev is kidnapped, a military coup overthrows the Kremlin, and the entire USSR is plunged into volatile uncertainty. The play ironically begins to mirror action in the streets. Kurbas and his company struggled to make art during the revolution that ushered in Communism; the international troupe performs the life of Kurbas as the walls of Communism come tumbling down. During the massive political changes of 1991, including the fall of Communism and Ukraine gaining national independence, the film takes the viewer on a personal journey behind the iron curtain while highlighting Ukraine's historic struggle to maintain independence from Russia.

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