From the sketch to reality: the willow of Mavka will grow at the film studio FILM.UA

Magical Willow, the Heart of the Forest, is one of the central images of the animated full meter “Mavka. The Forest Song”. It is protected from human encroachments by the lead female character Mavka, the main antagonist of the film hunts it as the unique treasure. Now the Willow will grow not only at the hidden lawn in the cartoon, but also on the territory of the film studio FILM.UA.

“The Willow of Mavka” and a few more young trees were planted yesterday in the film village of the FILM. UA by the whole team of the studio “Animagrad”, creating a connection between the real and fictional worlds.

“The film begins in early spring. The guardian and soul of the Forest Mavka wake up after a long winter's sleep, and with her all nature and the magic Forest wake up. A new round in the life cycle begins and our fairy tale story begins also. That's why we chose the first truly spring and sunny day of this year for planting of the “real” Willow of Mavka. The development of the film has entered the active phase, and our willows will grow with it,” - says the project producer Iryna Kostyuk.

The film's screenwriters invented a special ritual, the Forest residents will perform it celebrating the arrival of spring at the lawn near the Willow. This will strongly correspond with the tradition of spring folk songs in the human world, in the world of the main hero Lukash.

“Mavka and the Willow are inseparable in our film, in fact they are the integral unit. In addition, according to Ukrainian mythology, the Willow is a symbol of women's power and energy, at the level of subtext such connection between the image of Mavka and the image of Willow will surely be read”, - shares the costume designer of the project Olga Navrotska.

Visually, the willow in the cartoon is a very unusual tree, magical signs, and in fact ancient Slavic runes are inscribed on it. “We have been looking for this image for a long time. After all, we are building two worlds, a world of people and a fairy world in which mythical creatures and forest dwellers live” - the art director of the project Chris Koskinen shares with some secrets of the creative process.  And the world of the forest should embody something magical, attractive, which will contrast with the beauty of the countryside.”

Planting of the willows also means the realization of the ideas laid down in the film, one of which is the preservation of nature and the multiplication of its resources. “According to the idea of ​​director Sasha Ruban, the world, the Forests world will be composed and inhabited by plants and animals from the Red Book of Ukraine. And it seems to us very important, as never before, to draw attention to the problem of consumer, almost barbaric, attitude towards Ukrainian nature with the help of the film. There are broad activities of the protection and support of the environment in our plans. Not the cinema for the sake of cinema, but the cinema for the sake of the most proper things and concepts,”- says Anna Eliseeva, the creative producer of the project.

The release of the project will take a couple of years - there is time to grow trees and realize the boldest ideas.

Mavka: The Forest Song is a full-length animated feature produced by Ukraine-based Animagrad (FILM.UA Group). It is currently at the concept stage of development. The film is inspired by a play of the same name by Lesya Ukrainka, as well as by various Ukrainian legends and cultural traditions. The film’s production crew includes experts from leading ethnography institutes: the Ukrainian Studies Center at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Ivan Honchar Museum, and the Ukrainian Fashion Museum. The experts are there to ensure the authenticity of the Ukrainian myths and legends, religious beliefs, rituals, and visual culture translated into the singular animated world of Mavka. And the world-renowned group DakhaBrakha has already committed to creating the film’s soundtrack.

In September 2016, the animated feature Mavka: The Forest Song won the ninth contest held by the Ukrainian State Film Agency and was awarded state financing in the amount of 30% of the film’s total budget. Mavka: The Forest Song is scheduled for release in Ukraine in late 2018–early 2019.