[3] Ilyenko was born in Cherkasy in 1936 but during World War II his family was evacuated to Siberia while his father was in the Red Army.

[4] He graduated high school in Moscow and Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in 1960.

[4] In 1963 Ilyenko started his work as an operator and then a director at Dovzhenko Film Studios.

[4] His next film, To dream and to live (written in collaboration with Ivan Mykolaichuk), was stopped 42 times at various stages of production.

[4] His 1994 documentary about Sergei Parajanov received the "Golden Knight" at the film festival Cinema City.

[4] He was a member of the Communist Party since 1973, but changed his political position after the end of the USSR.