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Leading Ukrainian producer Volodymyr Yatsenko (“Reflection,” “Atlantis”), who’s currently at the Cannes Marché du Film as part of European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move, has unveiled a slate of feature films from some of the most exciting talents in the Ukrainian film industry.
“Despite all the chaos associated with war, we continue to strive to produce quality films,” the producer told Variety.
Yatsenko is wrapping up post-production on the latest from Valentyn Vasyanovych, whose last film, “Reflection” (pictured), competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. Vasyanovych’s previous feature, “Atlantis,” won the award for best film in the festival’s Horizons strand.
“To the Victory!” is a dystopian story set in post-war Ukraine, where a frustrated film director struggles to make the most of his life after being denied the opportunity to pursue his movie-making career. Estranged from his wife and daughter, who have been living in Vienna and are reluctant to return to their war-torn nation, the director tries to find solace in his conviction that the difficult times will pass and life will return to normal.
The film, which is co-produced by Yatsenko’s ForeFilms (Ukraine), Arsenal Films (Ukraine) and M-Films (Lithuania), was supported by the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films, Eurimages and the Lithuanian Film Fund.
Yatsenko noted that “To the Victory!” was produced for roughly €400,000 ($446,000) and was shot entirely without the support of the Ukrainian government, which has all but stopped cultural funding during the war with Russia. Seven of the film’s eight crew members, including Vasyanovych, play themselves in the film. “Following the premiere of his last film, ‘Reflection,’ in the main competition at Venice, we anticipate an exciting festival career for the film,” said Yatsenko.
The producer is also busily financing “Screaming Girl,” the buzzy, English-language debut of director Antonio Lukich, which took the top prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market in 2024. Lukich’s previous feature, the comedy-drama “Luxembourg, Luxembourg,” screened in the Horizons strand in Venice in 2022. His debut, “My Thoughts Are Silent,” won a special jury prize in Karlovy Vary in 2019.
“Screaming Girl” follows a young woman who, after the invasion of Ukraine, finds herself in Ireland, where she pursues her dream of becoming an actress. However, she begins to experience strange and fantastical events that disrupt her life, prompting her to rebuild it from scratch.
Irish producer Jessie Fisk of Feline Films has boarded the project, which also received development support from Screen Ireland, as well as development and production support from the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films. Yatsenko is seeking a third-country co-producer, with plans to shoot in Ireland next year.
Meanwhile, rising filmmaker Pavlo Ostrikov, whose feature debut “U Are the Universe” traveled to more than 40 festivals after premiering in Toronto last fall, is developing his sophomore film “Tragedy,” which will be based on his original script. Set in the near future after Ukraine has emerged victorious in its war with Russia, the film follows a philosophy professor grieving the death of his wife whose life is upended when the ancient Greek gods return to Earth.
“U Are the Universe,” which scooped more than a dozen awards internationally, was sold by True Colours to the U.S., Canada, France, German-speaking territories, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Brazil and Indonesia.
Lastly, Yatsenko is developing director Nariman Aliev’s follow-up to his feature debut “Homeward,” which premiered in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section in 2019. “Ortalan” is a WWII-set drama that follows a small boy searching for his family after the entire Crimean Tatar population is deported from their homeland.
Pic has received development support from the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films and secured production funding from Ukraine prior to the war. Patrice Nezan from Les contes modernes has joined the film as French co-producer.
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