Myrnyi-21 directed by Akhtem Seitablaiev is a story of resistance at the Luhansk border base in 2014 when its fighters fought against the russian sabotage groups. The release was scheduled for April 2022, on the Day of the Ukrainian border guard, but finally, it will happen on February 22, 2023. FILM.UA Distribution and Kinomania are the theatrical distributors of the film.
The film by Akhtem Seitablaiev is set in June 2014, at the Ukrainian border in the Luhansk region. Back then, russian secret services and pro-russian separatists tries to force the soldiers of the border base to betray Ukraine, as it happened in Crimea, and to occupy the territory without a fight. Despite the lack of experience, the unit entered the fight by the decision of the commander. Myrnyi-21 is the story of those who did not surrender. It releases in cinema on February 22, 2023.
Teaser trailer: https://youtu.be/7_CbqLyRx_g
“Before the full-scale russian invasion, our team presented the film materials at the Winter film market of OIFF. We were preparing for the release in April and to pay tribute to the border guards, whose heroic deeds were reflected in the movie. But February 24th has changed everything. Those who played fighters in the film, became the fighters in the real life, on the battlefield. The team and the actors are doing their best to bring the victory closer: they are in the Ukrainian Armed Forced, in the Territorial Defense units, or volunteers. Every day I got the same question: where the film will be released? We are also looking for it. This film is very important for us. We dedicate it to the memory of Pavlo Lee, who played Captain Osiris in our film, and this role became his last one. We dedicate it to all the soldiers who have been fighting for the freedom and independence of Ukraine for the last 8 years. And – to all the defenders of our country who have changed their lives for the sake of our peaceful future,” – says Akhtem Seitablaiev, the director and the general producer of Myrnyi-21.
There were three scriptwriters who worked on Myrnyi-21. Yaroslav Yarish and Serhii Kastornykh are experienced authors, and for Anatolii Kotsiurba it was his first experience. Anatolii is a colonel in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. He was invited to help to illustrate the specifics of military service as accurately and correctly as possible. The filming began in September 2021 in Kyiv and in the military base in Vasylkiv, Kyiv region (Joint Air Force Training Center). Now the film is at the post-production stage.
“We were actively preparing for the premiere in April, but everything stopped on February, 24th. The film studios closed, and the team fled to other parts of Ukraine to do very unusual things. Little by little, the work on the film slowly began to continue. Blackouts have also changed our plans significantly. Now, every postproduction team member has a quest: to find a studio that has electricity or a power generator, download the materials, and make the render of the film’s files. We adapt at every stage of work, but no one is whining, we just do what we love and know how to do. And it's an incredible happiness to work with such a team because we all want to come together at the premiere of a film with such a difficult path to theaters and to the audience,” – comments Maria Donchyk, the co-producer of Myrnyi-21.
Follow the project’s news on its social media pages (Facebook and Instagram), and on FILM.UA Distribution’s pages (Facebook and Instagram).
The film is produced by ISTMEN FILMS with the support of the State Film Agency and UA Production
FILM.UA Distribution and Kinomania are the theatrical distributors of the film.
FYI
Title: Myrnyi-21
Director: Akhtem Seitablaiev
Cast:
Viktor Zhdanov, Roman Yasinovskyi, Andrii Saminin, Andrii Mostrenko, Oleksii Trytenko, Lorena Kolibabchuk, Maksym Devizorov, Yevhenii Lamakh, Pavlo Li, Larysa Rusnak, Serhii Frolov, Mariia Shtofa, Zoia Vlasenko
Producer: Akhtem Seitablaiev, Dmytro Malichev, Mariia Donchyk
Director of photography: Yurii Korol
Scriptwriter: Yaroslav Yarish, Serhii Kastornykh, Anatolii Kotsiurba
Idea: Pavlo Sushko
Production: ISTMEN FILMS with the support of the State Film Agency and UA Production
Distribution: Kinomania, FILM.UA Distribution
Genre: war drama
Length: 117 min
Release in Ukraine: 22.02.2023
Synopsis:
The story of trust and its absence against the background of events unfolding in Eastern Ukraine in early 2014. The main topic is revealed through the prism of the Luhansk border base, whose fighters the separatists and Russian special services tried unsuccessfully force to betray their country.
