Ukrainian cinematographer Yurii Bordakov has died

Yuriy Bordakov sits in the center with a camera in his hands

National Union of Cinematographers

At the age of 77, on March 6, the Ukrainian cinematographer and laureate of the Shevchenko Prize passed away Yuriy Bordakov. About this reported Detektor media edition, referring to the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine (NSKU).

During the accident at the Chornobyl NPP, Yuriy Bordakov, together with the film crew, filmed the details of the elimination of the disaster on film. Later, it was made into a film trilogy “Chernobyl: two colors of time”. In 1989, the creators of the tape – Leonid Muzhuk, Hem Salganyk, Igor Kobrin and Yuriy Bordakov – was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.

“Let’s recall one Chernobyl minute… Liquidators clean the roof of radioactive fuel debris… This shot, shot by Yuriy Bordakov in one long (one-minute) shot, was seen by almost all adults on the planet, after all, all those who were concerned about Chernobyl at the time. And who was indifferent to him then? Now everyone has forgotten what was there”– wrote formerly screenwriter and journalist Leonid Muzhuk.

Yurii Bordakov worked at the Ukrtelefilm studio and was a member of the National Union of Cinematographers. He also received the title of Knight of the Order of Merit III degree in 2007 and II degree in 2021.

As noted in the message, the cinematographer died after a serious and prolonged illness. The head of the NSKU commission on information policy, a producer, shared her memories of him Valery Ivanenko. She said that she met Yuri during the preparation of the film crew for work at NASA.

“Then there were dozens of kilometers of roads that we traveled to various space centers to film another historic event – the preparation for the flight and the launch from Cape Canaveral of the shuttle Columbia with the STS-87 mission on board, in which the first cosmonaut of Independent Ukraine took part. Always a collected, reliable, charming, very tolerant and tireless person – that was Yuri Viktorovich Bordakov”– added the producer.

She also published a photo of Bardakov, who was in Earth orbit. A photo card was then sent to Leonid Kadenyuk along with other Thanksgiving gifts, on it – Vera and Dmytro Kadenyuk, Valery Ivanenko and Yury Bordakov himself.