XYZ Films distributes ‘StayOnline’ in North America

XYZ Films became the North American distributor of the first Ukrainian feature film shot during the war “StayOnline”, as was announced during the Marché du Film at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is a joint project of the Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP) and AMO Pictures.

Igor Storchak, co-founder of OUP: “We are fighting for the attention of the world to the Ukrainian events. It’s difficult, but we are optimistic, and we have results. We hope that despite the different life context, viewers in Canada and the USA will be able to feel at least partly what we felt in Kyiv, Bucha, Kharkiv, Kherson and Mariupol in February 2022.”

Film’s idea author and producer is Anton Skrypets, the director is Eva Strelnikova, the script was co-written by Skrypets and Strelnikova.

“StayOnline” uses the innovative screenlife format to tell the story of a young woman Kate who risks her life and the lives of her loved ones to save the future of a boy from Bucha. The film begins when Kate is given a donated laptop and is asked to install a military application. Then she received a call from a boy whose parents had gone missing after the Russian invasion. The boy is searching for his father, the laptop’s previous owner. Reluctantly, she agrees to help find his missing parents.

The film was produced by Marina Kvasova and Alla Lypovetska of the Organization of Ukrainian Producers (OUP) together with Anatoly Dudinsky of AMO Pictures.

Alla Lypovetska: “This film was our joint challenge. At first it seemed impossible, like a crazy attempt to think about filming in such a difficult time. But our team believed and we got great support from our partner AMO Pictures. The energy and talent of Anton Skrypets and Eva Strelnikova inspired us as well. I want our film to be seen all over the world, and think it will not leave anyone cold. This is a story about Ukrainians who keep amazing with their will and bravery.”

This isn’t the first time XYZ Films has rolled the dice on the screenlife format: last year the company partnered with Pulsar Content to handle sales on the Japanese horror movie “Bloat”.

XYZ Films is an integrated content company whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. More – xyzfilms.com