A FILM.UA Group producer and a media expert Iryna Kostyuk is admitted to the European Film Academy (EFA). Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy now unites 3,800 European film and TV professionals from 54 countries. The Academy is best known for its annual film award, the so-called European Oscar.
“The goal of the EFA is to promote the European cinema and to represent interests of the European film production at a global level. For us, the Academy membership is an opportunity to study the experience of national film schools in Europe, share creative and business ideas, adopt best practices and participate in common projects with recognized European and world producers, directors and screenwriters. Ukraine becomes a full member of the European film process and the Ukrainian cinema gets access to the common film market. I am sure this will contribute to the development of the national film industry in Ukraine and the recognition of the Ukrainian cinema in Europe,” said Iryna Kostyuk.
In her 20-year media career, Iryna was engaged in the production of various content projects in: television, film distribution, animation, digital. Since 2014, she has been working in the production of series and distribution films with the FILM.UA Group team; she also presents FILM.UA Group projects at all key film markets and international television industry events, and often participates as an expert at conferences and panel discussions.
The film producer’s portfolio includes a successful Ukrainian comedy franchise Crazy Wedding; it set a number of national box office and TV records. In total, the Crazy Wedding and the Crazy Wedding-2 sold over 1.1 million tickets, and the total box office exceeded UAH 96 million. The broadcasts of the two parts on the 1+1 channel were watched by 17.6 million viewers.
The Crazy Wedding was also released in Australia, Canada, Portugal, Poland and the USA. Moreover, the Ukrainian film format was sold abroad for the first time in history. The franchise project was already implemented in Lithuania with over 800 thousand USD box office. A local version production is at the preparation stage in Romania. With the commercial success, the filmmakers were first in the national cinema industry to repay the State Film Agency of Ukraine the money allocated for the film production, with interest.
Full-length animated films are among other FILM.UA Group projects produced by Iryna Kostyuk. These are Roxelana, its production is to be completed in 2022, and Mavka. The Forest Song (2021), the latter has become a unique case for the Ukrainian and international film markets long before the release. Screening rights have already been sold to 21 countries in Europe as well as countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The cartoon itself has developed into a multi-platform brand the Mavka’s Universe. Its elements are embodied in a variety of licensed formats and products, including books, foods, jewelry, a clothing collection and branded space.
Before joining the FILM.UA Group team, Iryna Kostyuk was responsible for the international content purchasing at the Inter media group channels, a co-founder and director of the first Ukrainian media consulting company Media Resources Management, then she held a position of general producer of ТЕТ TV channel, launched rated national TV projects, reality shows and series.
The new status will help Iryna Kostyuk, along with her colleagues, to continue the development of the national Ukrainian cinema in the pan-European context. There are 51 professionals representing the Ukrainian film industry in the European Film Academy.
