LIGHT FROM THE EAST [**] (Two stars)
IN 1991, Amy Grappell and a group of fellow American actors traveled to Ukraine, then part of the U.S.S.R., to join local counterparts in production of a play honoring Les Kurbas, a pioneer Ukrainian stage director who was executed in 1937 by Stalin’s thugs.
Two weeks into the visit, Mikhail Gorbachev was ousted in a coup and the Soviet Union was thrown into turmoil that ended days later when Boris Yeltsin took control of the Kremlin.
Suddenly, Grappell’s documentary about a routine cultural exchange program became a witness to history in the making.
“Light From the East” is of historical interest, although a more experienced filmmaker would have made more of the sudden rush of events – and avoided the temptation to put himself or herself into nearly every frame, as Grappell does.
In English, Russian and Ukranian, with subtitles. Running time: 72 minutes. Not rated (mature subject matter). At the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, Avenue A and Third Street.