The first video about the preparatory expedition of the crew to the Carpathians is already published
As part of the historic drama The Rising Hawk, produced by Kinorob studio (Battle for Sevastopol, The Stronghold) with support of Ukraine State Film Agency, the creative team of the film launches a video digest about the progress of the project. Today, the first video from the preparatory expedition of the crew to the Carpathians mountains, was made public. Soon the video will be posted in the digest, as well as the videoblog of Akhtem Seitablayev, the director of The Rising Hawk.
According to Akhtem Seitablaev, there were several tasks for The Rising Hawk team during the trip. First one was to find locations for future shootings, that begins in the spring of 2018. The second task was to plunge into the world of the movie heroes and learn more about the lives and habits of indigenous Carpathians dwellers of that time.
“Seems that I have never seen the real Carpathians before this trip, and once again I was convinced how beautiful and picturesque our country is. Every place we visited, was really special and inspirational. But most of all I was impressed by the Maniavsk Waterfall and its surroundings. This is a unique area, with own atmosphere, storyline and drama, so, I hope, we will shoot part of the main episode of the film there, – Akhtem Seitablaev, the director of the movie, shares his experience. – We have also visited the rock monastery complex of Tustan, where Leonid Osika made his shootings some time ago. I do not want to run ahead, but it is likely that our cinematic location Tukhlia will be located on the territory of Tustan”.
In addition, the project team visited the village of Naguevichi, where Ivan Franko was born and worked. «Work on the script has been going on for a long time, and this is not my first visit to the Carpathians. I have been in Krivorivnya before, it is a place where Ivan Franko lived for a while and worked on several of his works. This time, we and the crew visited the village of Naguevichi and the restored house where Ivan Franko was born and lived. It was here that he wrote the story about Zakhar Berkut that lies beneath our movie, and I was even sitting at the table, in the same place where Franco worked at one time, - tells Yaroslav Voytseshek, the scriptwriter. - I was fullfilling with the energy of Franko's creativity, because even the facts from his biography helped us to work on the script. Also, there I realized what a big responsibility lies upon me and the shooting group. In addition to translating a literary work into the language of cinema, we must expand and adapt it to a modern, young spectator and spectators around the world. I admit it is a very big challenge, because many different people must be interested in, and at the same time, do not lose the spirit of the classical story and convey all the messages that the writer Franko laid in his work. But as they say, "whatever goes around, comes around", and now we are already standing on the start point”.
“But the most important thing during the expedition was that we learned how people used to live in the Carpathians hundred years ago, we plunged into the atmosphere, saw with our own eyes and heard the sounds of ancient musical instruments, learned how people rejoiced and sad, what utensils used and dressed in those days, – mentions Akhtem Seitablaev. – Such details stimulate fantasy and allow us to find a compelling artistic decision, bring true life into a work of art. After all, these things help us identify ourselves as Ukrainians”.
“The Rising Hawk” is a large-scale project with a great international potential, on which we will work together with colleagues from the United States. Our goal is to tell the world this incredible heroic story from Ivan Franko, using modern technology and cinema-language, as well as show the beauty, richness and diversity of Ukrainian culture and mythology, - comments Egor Olesov, the producer of the project. – That is why we are now thoroughly studying all the details and deeply immerse in folklore and the life of the Carpathian highlanders. We are grateful to our partners from the Ivan Franko International Fund for advice and assistance in organizing a research expedition”.
Follow the project’s news on its official pages:
Name: The Rising Hawk
Slogan: Freedom is my nature
Synopsis: The year is 1241. The Mongol horde lead by cruel khan Burunda moves west, destroying everything in its path. Reaching the Carpathian mountains, the troops camp right below. However, at night several local hunters, the Berkut brothers, secretly enter the camp and free the hostages. Consumed with rage, the khan decides to take revenge and destroy the Carpathian settlements. A traitor amongst the locals tells the Mongols about a secret passage inside the mountains. Nevertheless, a small group of mountain hunters lead by Zakhar Berkut has its own plan to stop the enemy horde once and for all.
Director: Akhtem Seitablaev
Director of photography: Yuriy Korol
Producers: Egor Olesov, Yuriy Prylypko
Scriptwriter: Yaroslav Voytseshek
Production designer: Vlad Odudenko
Costume designer: Antonina Belinskaya
Genre: costume drama, action
Year: 2018
Status: in production
Production: Kinorob Supported by Ukrainian State Film Agency
Duration: 110 min
Premiere in Ukraine: 2019
