The rights to show Ukrainian documentaries sold to dozens of countries
The Organization of Ukrainian Producers has sold broadcast rights for four of their documentaries: “HopeBahnhof. Berlin”, “9 Lives”, “A Home Lost” и “Mariupol. Unlost Hope” to 20 countries.
One of them, “A Home Lost” will premiere this week on Romanian Public Television (Romania) and in a week’s time the channel will show Romanian viewers the film “HopeBahnhof. Berlin”.
Laura Florescu, Film Department Romanian Public Television:
“Since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian troops, the Romanian people helped as much as they could to all the Ukrainians arriving at the Romanian borders, welcoming them with the greatest warmth and care, taking them into their homes, as if they were their own sisters, brothers and children.
TVR – the Romanian National Television – has been broadcasting in newsreels, documentaries, and also on its News website, all the events and the unfolding dramas from Ukraine. Also, on one of our channels – TVR 3 – we are broadcasting, from Monday until Sunday (from 22:00-24:00 h and from 6:00 -7:00 h) programs from the Ukrainian TV – for all the Ukrainians that have settled in Romania.
Therefore, broadcasting the documentaries produced by the OUP comes as a normal continuation of everything mentioned above. Our hearts go out to everyone in Ukraine trying to continue their lives in the midst of this terrible conflict”.
TV channels and companies from Poland, Ireland, Norway, Israel, Portugal, Spain, Estonia, Latvia and many others have also acquired rights to show OUP films.
In March 2022, when OUP was established, its founders set themselves the objective to tell the world about the preconditions, conditions and consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war and to show how Ukrainians themselves see this war. The films of OUP are primarily aimed at a Western audience and are based on personal stories.
Igor Storchak, Co-founder of OUP and Gingers Media:
“In the last month, the market has shown a very good reaction to our films. Our original goal was to support Ukraine in its struggle, and we are happy that audiences in Europe and around the world have appreciated our efforts. This gives us hope for the success of the projects that are in production, particularly “Against All Odds” and a number of projects in development, such as “Evolution of Propaganda” and “World War Cyber”.
In addition to selling films to TV channels and media platforms, OUP continues to organise film screenings in cinemas around the world.
Daria Leygonie-Fialko, Co-founder of OUP and SPACE:
“This war has entered every home around the world. And we can see that it turned out to be important for people not just to see the film, but also to discuss it and support each other. This week our film “Mariupol. Unlost Hope” began its “tour” in the US cinemas. The auditorium in New York was full and gathered people from several countries. After the screening people came out in tears and, to quote one guest, “full of a renewed determination to help Ukraine and to ensure that the truth will live on”. This feedback gives us the strength to keep working and making new films”.
Negotiations to sell broadcast rights to other territories continue. And while the world is watching the first four OUP films, production teams continue working on new projects. “The second, but not less important task of OUP was not to let the Ukrainian film and TV industry get destroyed. Launch of new films’ production means new jobs’s creation for film crews who lost their jobs on 24 February, – says Daria Leygonie-Fialko. – So we are investing all the proceeds from the sales of the films in the production of the new ones”.
Ten documentaries and one feature film are currently in production.
Reference information
The Organization of Ukrainian Producers was created in March 2022 by seven experienced Ukrainian TV and Film producers – Volodymyr Borodianskyi, Daria Leygonie-Fialko, Alla Lypovetska, Marina Kvasova, Igor Storchak, Victor Mirskyi and Iryna Zaria – with the purpose of creating movies about the war in Ukraine. Besides already completed documentaries – “Mariupol. Unlost hope”, “Nine lives”, “HOPEBAHNHOF. Berlin” and “A Home Lost”, OUP has ten more documentaries (“Against All Odds” etc.) and one feature film (“Stay online”) in production.
“Mariupol. Unlost Hope” will show the Russian-Ukrainian war through the eyes of people who survived the first month of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the most hellish place of the beginning of this phase of the war – Mariupol. This is a testimony film, a truth film, a revelation film through the eyes of the citizens who found themselves in the middle of the war.
“Nine Lives” will reveal an extremely sensitive topic and tell about those who are the most vulnerable in the conditions of a terrible war – about the animals that Ukrainians save from the war, despite the incredible danger to themselves. This film will allow you to look at this topic on the example of very different stories: from the evacuation of the zoo from the war zone – to the story of Kotopapa, the rescuer of cats.
“HopeBahnhof. Berlin” will tell the stories of Ukrainian refugees and European volunteers: it is a film about the depths of humanism that people discover in themselves, sometimes unexpectedly even for themselves.
“A Home Lost” was filmed in the spring of 2022, immediately after the liberation of the Kyiv region from Russian troops. It touchingly and carefully reveals the whole range of emotions of Ukrainians who lost their home as a result of the occupation.
