Exclusive: WTFilms has acquired international sales rights to Ukrainian director and producer Igor Olesov's current drama Daughter It is set in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
News of the takeover comes as Ukraine marks the 1,000th anniversary of the resulting war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced millions and destroyed dozens of once-thriving towns and cities.
Daughter It blends family dynamics with the horrors of war through the story of a hearing-impaired 17-year-old girl named Olga, who stays with her father and his new family in the sleepy town of Bucha outside Kiev when Russia invades the country. Ukraine begins.
Before the family has time to flee, Russian soldiers occupy their home and subject them to a reign of terror that includes death and rape threats. After having a falling out with her stepmother, Olga realizes that she must put aside her differences while facing unimaginable choices to protect her loved ones in a battle for survival.
The cast includes Lisa Kozlova, Akhtam Sitabilayev (Return home), Anastasia Karpenko (How is Katya?) And Myron Shuvalov.
The film was shot on location in Buca, which was the scene of real-life atrocities against civilians by Russian forces in February 2022, in a house occupied by invading forces, who were forced to withdraw a month later.
Olesov used the single frame technique previously used by the likes of Sam Mendes in 1917 and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu Birdmanwhile the atmosphere is further enhanced by a haunting score by Italian composer Dario Ferro, with contributions from cellist Tina Gou (Interstellar, Sand dunes).
DaughterThe film premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival in October, and has since won Best Film at the Oslo Film Festival in early November.
It is the feature film debut of Olesov, an acclaimed producer with credits that include feature animation Mafka: Forest SongDiana Maria Olson Let me go homeas well as co-producer of Agnieszka Holland's 2019 drama Mr. JonesThe film revolves around the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s sparked by Joseph Stalin's political policies.
“It is a reflection of the human ability to endure and adapt, even when faced with the unimaginable. Daughter “It explores how we find hope not in grand gestures, but in the smallest acts of courage and compassion,” Olesov says of his new film.
Olesov also produced the film with Olga Maksiuk under the banner of Heroes Films, the feature films and scripted series division of United Heroes Group. The feature is scheduled to be released in Ukraine in 2025.
“With this acquisition, WTFilms expands its portfolio by bringing an important Ukrainian story to a global audience, representing a growing interest in cinema from Ukraine,” Heroes Films said in its statement.
