In Spring (1929) is a masterpiece of the Ukrainian avant-garde cinema, a non-feature film made by Mіkhail Kaufman, Dziga Vertov’s brother and co-author, in accordance with the avant-garde theory of “cine-eye”. The film shows Kyiv in 1929, almost unknown today.

The shots showing the awakening of the city, the renewal of its life, are in line with the lyrical portrayals of reviving nature. Kaufman’s attentive camera pauses on smiling faces of children, lyrically depicting a declaration of love to Kyiv. In In Spring, Kaufman used the method of “hidden camera” for the first time.

Mikhail Kaufman (1897–1980) was a cinematographer, documentary filmmaker, experimental photographer, and member of the Kinoks collective. At VUFKU (The All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration), he was an author, director, and cinematographer one of the most poetic films about Kyiv. Later, he directed only one film in Ukraine, An Unprecedented Campaign (1931), which depicted the success of collectivization shortly before the tragedy of Holodomor.