Ukrainian Deputy Culture Minister Yuriy Rybachuk has said an unprecedented number of feature films – 21 – supported by the state have been released during 2017.
“Widescreen format films during 2017 total 21,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on December 21.
The deputy minister said the films ‘Storozhova Zastava’ (The Stronghold) and ‘Kiborhy’ (The Cyborgs) had been viewed in movie theatres by more than eight million Ukrainians, setting a record for Ukraine’s box office.
In 2017, contracts were signed to produce a total of 32 films, he said.
He recalled that Ukraine’s parliament in 2017 adopted a draft law on state support for cinematographers, which provides up to 80 percent financing for production and 50 percent financing for television serials. He said about 50 legal acts still need to be adopted for the law to fully take effect.
First Deputy Culture Minister Svitlana Fomenko, in turn, said state support for cinematography does not foresee reimbursement of funds, and this explains why government is not keeping track of box office receipts.
As earlier reported, the Ukrainian film ‘The Stronghold’ set a record for box office receipts among Ukrainian films, collecting Hr 8.184 million during its first weekend of showing.
On December 11, the film ‘The Cyborgs’ directed by Akhtem Seitablaiev about events at Donetsk International Airport during the Donbas war in 2014 beat the record, earning Hr 8.187 million at the box office during the first weekend.
During its first week of showing, ‘The Cyborgs’ was watched by more than 210,000 people, collecting about Hr 15.8 million in ticket receipts, setting a new Ukrainian record.
The Ukrainian State Film Agency, also known as Derzhkino, allocated Hr 23.97 million on December 19, 2016 to produce ‘The Cyborgs.’
