The poster shows us the main characters in this story – Stefaniya, a Ukrainian woman narrating the story, and her mistress Adele Anger – half-Polish, half-German. The destinies of two women have intertwined as closely as two tree trunks – in an unbreakable bond which doesn’t allow to live or breathe, stay or go. Who are they to each other – sisters, friends, rivals or still a mistress and a maid?
The poster’s visual style is based on the first concept poster previously created by a talented artist and illustrator Svitlana Dorosheva. When developing the concept art, Svitlana was inspired by modern and art nouveau styles characteristic of the Belle Époque, which is when the movie events unfold. The poster also bears a noticeable influence of Alfonse Mucha, one of the best known art nouveau representatives.
The concept poster has also adorned the cover of special re-edition of Felix Austria, a novel by Sofia Andrukhovych, dedicated to the film’s future premiere. Maid-in-Law romantic fantasy feature has been made based on this novel.
“We wanted the poster to convey the spirit and nature of the time our characters lived in. The main story unfolds around Stefa and Adelya so they were supposed to become the main figures of the poster. I hope that the audience won’t just appreciate this work but also gain a feel of the incredibly romantic and intriguing story that awaits them in the cinema,” said Nadia Zayonchkovska, film producer.
The colors of outfits and hair, jewelry and even postures – everything on the poster emphasizes the maximal opposition of female protagonists and the central conflict happening between them in the film.
“Adelya and I are like heaven and earth. Adelya is pale and half-transparent, with a cloud of blond hair, thin like fuzz, delicate like a snow globe made of whipped cream, dreamy, vulnerable and prone to crying. Adelya is someone you want to keep safe, swaddle like a child, and feed from a silver spoon… I am sinewy, tanned and fast, strong as a guy, not beautiful at all. Only my hair is beautiful: glossy, strong and straight, dark as a tree bark in the shadow and sparkling with copper in the sunlight,” this is how Stefa describes herself and her mistress on the pages of the novel.
In the film, Ukrainian servant was played by Polish actress Marianna Januszewicz. Ironically, in Poland auditions were held for the role of German-Polish Adelya but Marianna turned out to be a perfect fit for the Ukrainian. While preparing for filming, the actress had an express course in Ukrainian language with a coach and analyzed the novel and the script in detail to better understand her character.
“When I read the script the story seemed very close to me even though it happened over 100 years ago. This is a tale in the form of main character’s narrative who is lost emotionally, is searching for her place, aspiring for love and acceptance. This is a sensual story about search for love – be it for a person close to you, a man, a child, a woman, or a favorite pastime, cooking. This is a story about finding yourself in the confusion of thoughts and situations,” said Marianna sharing reflections about her character.
If the actress playing a Ukrainian was found in Poland, the aristocratic daughter of a German doctor and a Polish lady was played by a graduate of acting course in the first Ukrainian Film School, Alesya Romanova (School series). To prepare for filming, she had to slim down by several more kilos to fully fit into the image of a vulnerable mistress prone to crying.
“Adelya is a very tender person. She is brought up in a way that she often cannot react emotionally. So at first sight she might seem cold. But inside her heart there is much more than she can display on the outside. Actually, there is a lot of love in Adelya.Love for Stefa, love for her husband. But there is also great pain because she has a secret. A secret she carefully keeps,” said Alesya describing her character.
Recently the first official trailer to Maid-in-Law was released and got a lot of positive feedback form the viewers. You can watch it at this link.
The premiere of Maid-in-Law romantic fantasy feature will take place in almost two months, on January 16, 2020. The national distributor is Volha Ukraine.
The feature was made by FILM.UA Production, with the support of Ukrainian Government and Ministry of Culture. Filming was completed this past June, and now the film is in the final stages of post-production.
You can follow the project news on its pages on Facebook and Instagram.
Synopsis: The story starts in Stanislaviv (currently Ivano-Frankivsk) in the second half of the 19th century. Doctor Anger loses his wife in the fire but manages to rescue two girls: his own daughter Adelya and the daughter of housekeepers Stefania. In a moment of despair, the doctor decides to bring them up together.
25 years pass. The girls have grown up and are still inseparable though Adelya is now married. As for Stefa, she tends to the house and drowns her passion in cooking. But they still don’t understand who they are to each other: sisters and friends or a maid and a mistress. In the kaleidoscope of love and jealousy, double-entendres and secrets the boundary between reality and fiction disappears altogether. Elegant outfits, sophisticated dishes and endless promenades… What will happen when the illusion will start dispelling and reality will come into the foreground instead?
Project producer: Nadia Zayonchkovska
Screenwriters: Alina Semeryakova in collaboration with Sofia Andrukhovych
Director: Khrystyna Syvolap
DOP: Oleksiy Lamakh
Art director: Oleksandr Batenev
Costume designer: Lesya Patoka
Makeup artist: Maria Kolomiyets
Casting director: Alla Samoylenko
Cast: Marianna Januszewicz, Alesya Romanova, Roman Lutsky, Oleksandr Kobzar, Sergiy Volosovets, Ada Rogovtseva, Kateryna Kukhar, Yevhen Yanovych, Natalya Vasko, Irma Vitovska, Vazha Goderdzishvili, Sebastian Cybulsky, Yasin Faradzhallakh, Maryna Koshkina.
Produced by: FILM.UA Production with the support of Ukrainian Government and Ministry of Culture
CGI/VFX: POSTMODERN Digital
Distributor: Volha Ukraine
Premiere: January 16, 2020
