Specificity of M. Novak's Activity in the Context of the Development of Ukrainian Film Production in the Countries of North America

Abstract

The article examines the film production activities of one of the leading figures of socio-political and cultural life of the Ukrainian community in New York and Los Angeles in the mid-twentieth century. The activity of M. Novak in the context of the attempt to develop the Ukrainian film industry in order to outline the national identity is studied. The peculiarities of M. Novak’s professional and public activity in the context of the specifics of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and the USA are revealed and his contribution to the Ukrainian film industry abroad is clarified. The study found that the common semantic and stylistic basis of films of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and the United States in the 20-60's of the twentieth century. became the baggage of Ukrainian culture of their creators, the traditions of domestic cinema, in which they worked before emigrating, as well as the general attitude to the preservation of traditions of Ukrainian culture of the diaspora in North America, typical of the second wave of emigration in general. Through his own activities in the field of film production and distribution of documentary and feature films, M. Novak contributed to the nation-building dialogue and the actualization of the communicative efficiency of world Ukrainians.