The list includes full-length films The Stronghold, The Rising Hawk, Anne de Kiev, GarethJones (Kinorob production) as well as full-length animated features The Stolen Princess and Mavka.The Forest Song (Animagrad production).
The guests got an inside scoop and saw the new trailer for the feature fantasy The Stronghold which was based on a novel Storozhova Zastava (The Stronghold) by a Ukrainian author Volodymyr Rutkivsky (Kinorob production). The film will be officially released on October 12, 2017 while digital and cinema premiere of the second trailer will take place in August. This fall, The Stronghold is one of the most anticipated films for Ukrainian film industry, as well as for the rest of the world cinema. At this point presales agreements have been made with France, Italy, Spain, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, whereas China, Germany, Poland and the countries of Latin America already locked in presales deals. Ukrainian broadcaster Novy Channel is the co-producer of the film – this partnership guarantees significant marketing support in the face of StarLightМеdia Group. The film will be theatrically distributed in Ukraine by UFD.
The completed scenes and a work-in-progress video of The Stolen Princess animated feature were presented to the market audience as well. The trailer will premiere on the internet and in the theatres in September 2017. The film is scheduled for release on March 7, 2018, and so far the animation has been sold to more than 20 territories – the countries of Europe (Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Switzerland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) and Asia, including China and South Korea. In Ukraine it is Novy Channel that has already obtained presales distribution agreement, thus resulting in all StarLightMedia channels and digital resources of the media group being significantly involved in the film marketing campaign. The film will be theatrically distributed in Ukraine by UFD.
The following projects, still underway, definitely added some spice to the presentation and made it memorable: The Rising Hawk (based on the novel by a Ukrainian classics author Ivan Franko, directed by Ahtem Seitablayev) and Anne de Kiev (based on the French novel by Jacqueline Dauxois – Anne de Kiev. Reine de France – telling the story of the daughter of Great Prince Yaroslav the Wise, same woman who became the wife of Henry I, the king of France). The French-Ukrainian co-production is directed by Yves Angelo, a three-time César award winner for Best Cinematography, and a Ukrainian cameraman Sergiy Mikhalchuk, an owner of multiple awards and prizes, including the Silver Bear.
In addition, the audience found out more about historical thriller GarethJones. This is a story about a well-known British journalist who despite deadly danger tried to reveal the truth about the tragedy of the Ukrainian people, the man-initiated famine Holodomor. To his astonishment, the world remained silent even after having heard his words of truth. Nevertheless, it was him and his investigation that inspired George Orwell to write his great novel Animal farm. The film will be directed by Agnieszka Holland, a well-known Oscar and BAFTA nominated Polish film director, the owner of Silver Bear at Berlinale 2017. All Kinorob produced films were presented at the market by producer Egor Olesov.
It was absolutely obvious that the highlight of the event was the national premiere of the first teaser of the full-length animated film Mavka. The Forest Song. The fortunate guests in Ukraine were the first ones to meet the main characters of the animated feature: Mavka and her helper Swampy. The audience saw the key locations of the film and enjoyed the charmingly fascinating music featured in the film, created and played by the world-famous ethno-house band DakhaBrakha. The European premiere of the teaser on the biggest animation content cinema market MIFA that is held within the framework of Animation Festival in Annecy was a great success. In Odesa the video was presented by producers Iryna Kostyuk, Anna Eliseeva, film director Oleksandra Ruban and costume designer Olga Navrotska. It will be available on the Internet starting July 18. Theatrical release of the teaser is supported by UFD and will take place on July 27.
All the projects of the lineup are supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
