Ukrainian cinema, grounded in its version of historical modernity and intellectual tradition, was the second-largest film industry among the Soviet republics, gaining international recognition through the contributions of renowned figures such as Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Kira Muratova, and Sergei Parajanov. For a long time, however, Ukrainian cinema was overshadowed internationally by the distribution policies of central bodies such as Sovexportfilm and by Russo-centric narratives, both of which significantly shaped Western perceptions of its development over the course of the twentieth century. Typically framed around two major waves (the historical avant-garde and postwar poetic cinema), as well as a key number of films, the dominant narrative generally positioned Ukrainian cinema as a symbolic ethnographic counterpoint to the All-Soviet principles of socialist realism or the Russian psychological tradition. Such a reading overlooked the fact that Ukrainian cinema developed not only in opposition to Soviet political demands and stylistic guidelines but also in a complex if implicit dialogue with Ukrainian literary traditions, the specific processes of republican urbanization, and the unprocessed traumatic experiences of several generations of Ukrainians. The goal of this symposium is to add nuance and depth to the existing perspectives of Ukrainian Soviet cinema, moving beyond simplistic colonial dichotomies and outdated canons. We will welcome six visiting scholars to join the UC Berkeley campus community to share their ideas and research.