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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Ukraine

Filming wraps for the first Ukrainian sci-fi film, U Are the Universe

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- The feature debut by director Pavlo Ostrikov is now entering post-production, with the team hoping for a Cannes or Venice premiere next year

Filming wraps for the first Ukrainian sci-fi film, U Are the Universe
U Are the Universe by Pavlo Ostrikov

Producer Volodymyr Yatsenko has confirmed that the shoot for the first Ukrainian sci-fi film, U Are the Universe, directed by Pavlo Ostrikov, has now been completed. If the team has time to complete the post-production fairly soon, the premiere of the film should take place at the Cannes Film Festival; if not, then we should expect a Venice premiere.

According to the plot, after the Earth explodes, a lonely Ukrainian space trucker, Andriy, thinks he is the only survivor – until he hears a French scientist called Catherine on the radio. Despite all the obstacles in his way, Andriy decides to go and see her.

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Yatsenko said: “Since this is a sci-fi film, a very large part of which is made up of computer-generated special effects, we have finished shooting the film completely, but now a huge amount of major post-production work is starting. It will be a long and difficult road to bring it up to scratch, visually. Because this movie is such typical Ukrainian fun, and for 1% of the budget of Interstellar [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
, we are basically making Interstellar.

“As for the genre, it’s a typical dramedy, in which there is much more drama than comedy, and in this regard, there is a certain likeness between Antonio Lukich and Ostrikov. While Lukich works with brutality and evil irony, Ostrikov still works with humour. He's kind, he's very ‘human’, and it's interesting. I'm very happy with what we have shot; the material is cool. There is almost nothing left to do but to find the missing funding and finish. We are looking for co-producers, we have applied for post-production pitching, and there may be a couple of funds interested.

“The main character serves in the armed forces. He is given a short holiday but encounters big problems. He is played by Volodymyr Kravchuk, a fantastic actor. This is his first big role, and he’s the person that Pavlo had been looking for. We still have a long way to go in terms of the music and sound. The fact is that Pavlo picked up a lot of forgotten, but fantastic, Ukrainian pop music from the 1970s and 1980s, but we will need to invent the sound of ‘Ukrainian space’.

“By making this film, we intend to show that we are an invincible people and that even war will not stop us when we want to create something interesting,” adds Yatsenko.

Production duties on U Are the Universe are handled by Ukraine’s ForeFilms and the Ukrainian State Film Agency.

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