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International co-production and Ukraine: Gareth Jones case study

13 September 2018, 16:24

On September 18 at KMW Egor Olesov, producer of a new film by Agnieszka Holland, will reveal the details of Gareth Jones case and tell about the practicalities of implementing such wide-scale co-production project.  

Companies from three countries are working on the production of a new film by Agnieszka Holland to be premiered in 2019: Film Produkcja (Poland), Kinorob and FILM.UA Group (Ukraine), Crab Apple Films (Scotland), and Studio Orka (Belgium)Polish Film Institute (Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej), Krakow Festival Bureau (Krakowskie Biuro Festiwalowe), and Ukrainian State Film Agency are involved in financing.

The project is dedicated to the investigation of Welsh reporter Gareth Jones who revealed the truth about the Famine in Ukraine to the world and features international celebritiesIn particularthey include a British actor James Norton famous for the lead role of Alex Godman ina popular TV show McMafia and the role of Andrey Bolkonsky in BBC mini series War and Peacea British actress and BAFTA winner Vanessa Kirby (The Crown series, Mission: Impossible – Fallout blockbuster); Peter Sarsgaard (Boys Don't Cry and Shattered Glassdramas).

How did they manage to gather such a high-profile cast? How does one organize the work of such a complicated international mechanism? Film producer Egor Olesov will tell about this and many other things at KYIV MEDIA WEEK.

Presenting his case study ‘International co-production. Perspectives for Ukraine’ organized with the support of Ukrainian State Film Agency and Ukrainian Motion Picture Association, Mr. Olesov will tell about his experience of working at international sets and co-production markets and also the way international partners see Ukraine: what their concerns are, how ready they are to co-produce, in which fields and according to which conditions. He will also dwell on financial support from the state and its significance for co-producers. Olesov will separately talk about the difference between co-production partnership and services provision.   

NaturallyEgor Olesov will talk in detail about Gareth Jones case. What was the start of the project, when and why did FILM.UA Group join it? How did the negotiations go: at which stages and conditions was the project joined by different countries and companies? When did film authors ask for state support and which are Ukraine’s share and rights for the project in the end? How was the creative team formed, at which stage a decision to involve Agnieszka Holland was made, how were the actors selected? What is necessary to take into account when planning to film in Ukraine and what are the peculiarities of working with an international film crew? What is the project’s promotion strategy and how are the responsibilities of the parties distributed? Egor Olesov will talk at length about all these questions and share his rich co-production experience with KMW guests.  

Egor Olesovs case study ‘Internation co-production. Perspectives for Ukraine’ will take place on the second day of KYIV MEDIA WEEK (September 18) from 15:10 until 16:00.

KYIV MEDIA WEEK will take place on September 17–21, 2018 in Hyatt Regency Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine). You can register for the media forum here.  

Follow the announcements of KMW 2018 events and other media forum news on our websiteand official Facebook page.

Ukrainian State Film Agency is the central body of executive power, which activities are directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine through the Minister of Culture of Ukraine. Ukrainian State Film Agency implements the state policy in the field of cinematography.

Ukrainian Motion Picture Association (UMPA) is a professional non-profit open association of television and cinema producers representing the interests of Ukrainian audiovisual content industry. One of the main tasks of UMPA is to create favourable conditions for the domestic industry in cooperation with state authorities and representatives of international structures. Established in 2011.