Filming has ended for I swear I will love you forever, a four-episode melodrama jointly produced by FILM.UA and Ukraine TV-channel. The TV premiere of the story about friendship, fidelity and real love is scheduled for autumn. The leads in the film were played by Alexandra Sizonenko, Ivan Solovyov and Alexander Kryuchkov; directing was done by Alina Chebotaryova.
“I swear I will love you forever is a fairy tale with pure emotions, something everyone needs. I think the film’s beauty and passionate edge will attract the audience. Each character here is different, you want to really look into them and observe closely,” says Alina Chebotaryova, director. “Besides, we tried to bring sense into this story and allow the viewers to draw their own conclusions, there are no definite answers.”
“Our story is first of all about love and the unpredictable turns in life. There are no good or bad characters here, all have their own motives. They live the way they can and act the way they think it’s right. Though some characters might seem real bastards to the audience,” says Ivan Solovyov who played the role of Zheka.
What the film is about: Lena (Alexandra Sizonenko) is a beautiful girl, a promising athlete and a real pride of Primorsk. She has great sports future ahead of her – Lena is a born swimmer. Since her childhood, she has been friends with Zheka (Ivan Solovyov) and Pashka (Alexander Kryuchkov). A long time ago all of them swore they will always be together and never betray one another. But on the eve of the graduation party the guys who are actually competing for Lena decide to tell her about their feelings. And one of them will have to concede. However, adult life won’t turn out the way the friends used to dream about. In seven years, Lena, Pashka and Zheka will meet again in their native city. And like many years ago, Lena will have to make a choice. But will a child’s oath pass the test of time?
“I like Lena because she has a strong character. She is a potential Olympic champion, and if circumstances had been different she would have been successful in professional sports,” says Alexandra Sizonenko when describing her character. “Despite her young age she makes serious and powerful decisions. Ithinkwearesimilarinthisrespect.”
“I understood immediately that I want to be Pashka. This role seemed extremely interesting to me, though in my appearance and inner disposition I was more suitable for the role of Zheka. But I like roles a bit contrary to my nature, with something that doesn’t really hit home for me; I am curious to delve into things which are not in my character. And Pashka was exactly like this: an indecisive but noble and sad guy,” says Alexander Kryuchkov.
Part of the shoots took place in Kyiv, and all sea scenes were made in Chernomorsk where the main locations were a private beach, the port and the city center. Professional consultants and experts on underwater shooting were also involved in the project.
“When preparing for the shipwreck scene, I read a lot of specialized literature. Still, I understood that it was not enough and asked an admiral, a university president, for help. Afterwards we consulted with him on everything about the ships, starting from the crew composition and up to the means for the main character to get to the ship discreetly. And though the film does not stress on these fine nuances, you cannot construct an episode without this knowledge,” says Alina Chebotaryova, director. “And during the filming of sports scenes, we had a consulting trainer and a 20-time national swimming champion among women.”
Though a double was used for some sports scenes, Alexandra Sizonenko, the actress playing the lead, had to invest a lot of effort into preparation. “When I was approved for the role, I could swim only in breaststrokes and on the back, so I had to take several lessons before filming. I had about 10 classes with a trainer, I learned to crawl, jump from the start platform, etc. When I climbed on it for the first time, my knees got weak. Suddenly I understood how much jumping and swimming I’ll have to do during the shoot… And at the same time I recalled all my favorite actors like DiCaprio who slept inside a dead horse for the whole night to nail the role, and this motivated me to get my act together.”
How the story of three friends ends and who will keep the child’s oath – all this we’ll find out this autumn. Don’t miss the premiere of I swear I will love you forever on Ukraine TV-channel.
Director: Alina Chebotaryova
Producers: Viktor Mirsky, Natalya Stribuk, Irina Chernyak, Elena Malkova, Ekaterina Shvets
DOP: Konstantin Vorobyov
Screenwriters: Alexander Vysokovsky, Yana Dubinyanskaya
Cast: Alexandra Sizonenko, Alexander Kryuchkov, Ivan Solovyov, Oksana Zhdanova, Anna Lebedeva, Nina Nizheradze, Sergey Siplivy, Valery Shvets, Andrey Belous, Sergey Kalantay, Roman Matsyuta, Polina Tsitsilnitskaya, Vladimir Mashuka, Nikita Karmazin, Maksim Boryak, Sofia Kotlyarova, etc.
