Light From the East (NR)

synopsis

1991. Glasnost. Perestroika. The Soviet Union opens its doors to the West. A troupe of young American actors from La Mama Theater in New York travels to Kiev to participate in the first American/Ukrainian cultural exchange theater project in history. The play they are to perform is based on the life of Les Kurbas, a revolutionary Ukrainian theatre director who was murdered in one of Stalin's purges. Two weeks into their trip, Gorbachev is kidnapped, the Kremlin is overthrown by a military coup and the entire USSR is plunged into volatile uncertainty. As rehearsals progress, 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 the Ukraine declaring its national independence, "Light From the East" takes viewers on a philosophical inquiry into the meaning of freedom.