Two cities hosted a simultaneous pre-premiere screening of the first animated feature by Animagrad (FILM.UA Group) The Stolen Princess, scheduled for wide release starting from March 7.
Before the film, the journalists visited virtual guided tour of Animagrad studio where it was created. Project manager of the studio Maria Klauning told about all stages of animated 3D film production, learned the difference between layout and compose and discovered why at least three years of work are needed to produce one animated feature.
After the tour, the guests had long-awaited screening of The Stolen Princess. Glued to the screen, the journalists followed adventures of Kyiv princess Mila. After the final credits, lights came on in the cinema, and the audience greeted the project team with hearty applause. Producer Egor Olesov, director Oleg Malamuzh, screenwriter Yaroslav Voytseshek, art director Christian Koskinen, head of 3D production Andrey Militsky and Head at Ukrainian State Film Agency Philip Illienko answered all questions from the guests with great enthusiasm, telling about the specifics of big animated project production in Ukraine, its distribution abroad, development of marketing strategy and promotion campaign and also sharing their expectations for the theatrical release.
“Our goal was to produce an international animated film. At the moment we closed the deals on film distribution to more than 50 countries, including France, Germany, Poland, China and the countries of Latin America. The project has been represented and pre-sold at the key international film markets around the world during past two years. I think, that our story is told for a “global” perception, and the feedback from our international distributors and buyers confirms this,” says Egor Olesov, film producer.
Oleh “Fahot” Mykhayliuta, a voice of Fin the Sorcerer in the film, was a special guest of the press screening. It was the first time when Oleh watched the full version of the film, and he seemed pretty impressed: “You see the final film and you understand that this is a high level. I am very glad being a part of it.”
“We are proud, that we could create the project, that is competitive to the majors’ projects in the global markets. Our studio consists of about 100 people, and about 300 more were working for this project from all over the world – from China, France, Spain and Portugal. We hosted the guests from Disney at our facilities, and they were impressed by the high quality of the content, produced by such a “small” team of our studio. So I congratulate everyone in our country, in our team, in FILM.UA Group – we really did it!” – Andrey Militsky, Head of 3D Modeling concluded.
The journalists were also sharing their impressions after the press conference.
“When you are inside the theatre, you can see that Ukrainian animation industry is making a significant progress with every forthcoming release! You can say this regarding both the sound and the image, the screenplay, the dubbing quality. At the moment I can say, that this film is definitely the best among all the Ukrainian animated projects. Of course it still have a room to improvement, but its achievements are very significant”, says Olena Fedoreyko, “Films” column editor at Snidanok z 1+1 morning TV show.
“I recommend this film for a family watching. It is very lively and emotional. I think that The Stolen Princess will find its viewers not only among children, but also among adults. I think that this film is a Coco level. I want to thank the creators for using the fragments from our modern everyday life in the film”, says Yuliana Paksiutina, journalist at Korysna Karta informational portal.
“I liked the film and I think children will like it as well. And you have a funny hamster in the film”, says Yulia Ivanchenko, reporter for Novy TV Channel.
Some of the journalists attended the press screening with their kids, who were also sharing their impressions. “I loved the Hamster, the bird and Mila. Mila is very beautiful. I’ve seen the poster of the project in our school. I’ll tell everyone, that I was among the first viewers of the movie!” – says Masha, 8 y.o.
Meanwhile, Cinema Citi in Ternopil held a festivity dedicated to the cinema’s birthday, with an exclusive pre-premiere screening of The Stolen Princess built into it. The organizers prepared a sketch, lots of games, competitions, treats, and gifts, and the cartoon team arranged a huge surprise for the guests: League of Laughter show resident and participant of Ternopil stand-up team V.I.P. Tetyana Pesik.
“I loved the movie! And my friends, are with me here today loved it as well! I was concerned about the children’s reaction, but in the end they were excited too! It is very impressive that the film of such quality is to be released in Ukraine! I recommend this to everyone” – Tetyana says.
The team of the animated feature film sincerely thanks to the Ukrainian State Film Agency and to the all project partners for supporting the film: Kyivstar Company, distributor of the film in Ukraine – Ukrainian Film Distribution, Planeta Kino cinemas, the chain of bookstores Bukva, the Novyi TV channel, the entertainment portal Dity v misty, the Experimentanium museum, children shops Antoshka, the company Nova poshta, the restaurant chain TARANTINO family, the radio station Nashe Radio.
You can follow the news of the project on its official Facebook page, Instagram account, and official website.
About the film. This wonderful story happened in the age of valiant knights, beautiful princesses, and battling sorcerers. Ruslan, a wandering artist dreaming to become a knight, met beautiful Mila and fell in love with her; he didn’t even suspect that she is the King’s daughter. However, the lovers’ happiness wasn’t meant to last too long. Chоrnomor, the evil sorcerer, appeared in a magic vortex and stole Mila right before Ruslan’s eyes to transform her power of love into his own magic power. Without further ado, Ruslan sets out on a chase after the stolen princess to overcome all obstacles and to prove that real love is stronger than magic.
Producer: Egor Olesov. Director: Oleg Malamuzh. Scriptwriter: Yaroslav Voytseshek. Art-director: Christian Koskinen.
FYI. The Stolen Princess is the first animated feature film for Ukrainian and international release in the production line of the Animagrad studio. The film is in the production stage, but the rights for its release have been pre-sold to more than 30 territories, including China, South Korea, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, countries of the MENA region and Latin America. The Stolen Princess became the winner of the 9th competitive selection of Ukrainian State Film Agency; the sum of state financing amounts to about 20 percent of the film’s total budget of 95 million UAH.
