Walt Disney Studios, along with other major animation companies, has praised the Ukrainian animated feature movie “Mavka. The Forest Song” by Film.ua Group, which is in production and scheduled for release in 2019.
The first teaser for “Mavka. The Forest Song” will appear on the screens of Ukrainian cinemas in late July.
It is a fairy tale about a young female mystical forest creature from Ukrainian folklore, Mavka, who meets a boy who plays a Ukrainian musical instrument called the sopilka (reed pipe).
The concept of the animation feature was pitched at the Cartoon Movie forum, which took place in Bordeaux, France, in March 8-10. It was Ukraine’s first appearance at a such high-level animation event.
The movie’s producers said they attracted the attention of potential European co-production partners, investors, distributors and broadcasters, according to the animation film’s website, and that “negotiations on film co-production have already started.” They haven’t revealed any details, however.
“Mavka, as such a significant and powerful female character, deserves to reach the world, and the world will love her,” Iryna Kostyuk, one of the movie’s producers, says in a video presentation posted on Film.ua’s YouTube channel.
According to the movie’s website, the film was inspired by a play by Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka also called “The Forest Song,” as well as by various Ukrainian legends and cultural traditions.
Kristian Koskinin, the movie’s art-director, says in a video presentation that although Ukrainians have their own, childhood-rooted stereotypes of how the fairy tale characters should look, but while creating “Mavka. The Forest Song,” they wanted “to make it unique, so that the wide audience could still relate to it.”
Olga Navrotska, the movie’s costume designer, says she used many Ukrainian traditional symbols that have long been used in the embroidery of vyshyvankas (Ukrainian ethnic shirts) and pysankas (decorated Easter eggs), and which have deep spiritual meaning.
“We take Ukrainian patterns as a framework, and make up new, unique symbols to personify Mavk’s character visually,” says Navrotska.
For Navrotska, Mavka reflects the fundamental character of a Ukrainian.
“I want the world to see how bright we (Ukrainians) are, how good and fair we are, and how we are truly beautiful,” she says.
The soundtrack for “Mavka. The Forest Song” is being created by the Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha, who describe their music genre as ethno-chaos. Using the lyrics of folk songs, the musicians give them an unconventional sound using musical instruments from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Egor Olesov, another of the animation feature’s producers, said that the animation technology was important, but not as important as the team. According to him, the best Ukrainian animation professionals have been engaged in making “Mavka. The Forrest Song.”
For daily updates on the animation movie production, check out the movie’s official website, www.mavka.ua, and its Instagram account, @mavka.movie.
