The Orange Chronicles

After the tumultuous United States Presidential election in 2004, Damian Kolodiy decided to document the election in his ancestral home- Kyiv, Ukraine- hoping to answer the question, “How would an election in an emerging democracy compare?” He applies to be an International Election Observer, planning to only stay for several weeks. It is also a personal pilgrimage for Kolodiy, whose parents emigrated from the Ukraine to New York City in the 1940s. As soon as Kolodiy arrives in Kyiv, he instantly realizes he is in the middle of a singular, historic event– the election between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko– and all the controversy, corruption, and passion surrounding it. As the tainted election process is exposed, millions take to the streets to protest and support Yushchenko, calling for a re-election. Kolodiy follows the drama of the Orange Revolution, the Friendship Train, the ongoing struggle for democracy, and the differing political viewpoints in the diverse regions of the Ukraine, all the while wondering whether he will emerge unharmed. Traveling through the Ukrainian landscape, he sees firsthand the continuation of his grandparents' struggle for a free and independent country. (In Ukrainian and English with English subtitles) – CCP