Director Akhtem Seitablaev to be joined in his work on the film by director John Wynn and producers Jeff Rice, Raja Collins, and Yuriy Karnovsky
The film crew of The Rising Hawk historical action created by Kinorob with the support of Ukrainian State Film Agency was joined by Hollywood counterparts. John Wynn is to work as co-director with Akhtem Seitablaev. The film producers from the American side will be Jeff Rice, Yuriy Karnovsky, and Raja Collins.
“Our cooperation with American partners is first of all a chance to tell the whole world this incredible heroic story by Ivan Franko, to showcase the beauty of Ukrainian Carpathians well beyond the country’s borders, and to enable the audience to learn more about our history and old traditions, to find out about culture and everyday life, to hear real Ukrainian music, to ‘infect’ not only Ukrainian but also Western viewers with our country,” says Akhtem Seitablaev, film director. “In the script, we have preserved all the main messages put in by the classical author in his work, namely the ideas of civil society, unity, self-dedication, and integrity.”
According to Kinorob, a headed by Akhtem Seitablaev will be responsible for the whole creative and content component of the movie. As for Hollywood partners, they will ensure communication with the film’s international cast and help with promoting the project on North American market.
“I was very impressed when I read the script for the first time. Why have I never heard about it? This is an incredible story! I believe that this project has significant international potential as the story of a small Ukrainian community fighting the most powerful army of the world for its freedom and independence is close to each of us and will surely win the hearts of the audience all over the world,” says Jeff Rice, American producer of the film.
"We are delighted to work on such a legendary project. Ukraine is a great place, and we are convinced that the movie will be successful!" says Yuriy Karnovsky, producer.
Rice’s creative portfolio contains over 90 projects, in particular, Escape with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, Lone Survivor with Mark Wahlberg, and 2 Guns with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. His colleague Raja Collins produced such movies as True Memoirs of an International Assassin, Momentum, and others. As for director and producer John Wynn, he used to work on the set with the renowned Guillermo del Toro and Marvel.
“Partnership with the American team will allow us to make the next step in film production and start working more actively with the North American market, a leaderof the global film industry, which is among our company’s strategic goals. When Americans start filming in Ukraine, this will have a powerful economic effect not only for the local film industry but the country in general, developing tourism and other fields of our economy,” says project producer Egor Olesov.
The filming of historical action The Rising Hawk will start in mid-June in the Carpathians. The full cast is to be announced very soon. The premiere is planned for 2019.
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
Co-director: John Wynn
Director of photography: Yuriy Korol
Producers: Egor Olesov, Jeff Rice, Raja Collins, Yuriy Karnovsky
Scriptwriter: Yaroslav Voytseshek, Rich Ronat
Production designer: Vlad Odudenko
Costume designer: Antonina Belinska
Genre: action, drama
Year: 2018
Status: in production
Production: Kinorob, Cinema Day
Supported by Ukrainian State Film Agency
Duration: 110 min
Premiere in Ukraine: 2019
