Exclusive: WTFilms has acquired the international sales rights to Ukrainian director and producer Igor Olesov’s current drama Daughter Set in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
News of the acquisition comes as Ukraine marks 1,000 days since the resulting war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced millions and destroyed dozens of once-thriving towns and cities.
Daughter blends family dynamics with the horrors of war through the story of a 17-year-old hearing-impaired girl named Olga, who stays with her father and his new family in the quiet town of Pucha 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. At odds with her stepmother, Olga realizes that she must put her differences aside as she faces unimaginable choices to protect her loved ones in a battle for survival.
Starring: Lisa Kozlova, Akhtem Sitaplayev (Coming Home), Anastasia Karpenko (How is Katya?) And Myron Shuvalov.
The film was shot on location in Bucha, which was the scene of real atrocities against civilians by Russian forces in February 2022, in a house occupied by the invading forces, who were forced to withdraw a month later.
Olesov utilized the single-frame technique previously used by the likes of Sam Mendes in 1917 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Birdmanwhile the atmosphere is further enhanced by a haunting score by Italian composer Dario Ferro, with contributions from cellist Tina Jo (Interstellar, Sand dunes).
daughterThe film premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival in October, and has since won the Best Film Award at the Oslo Film Festival in early November.
It’s the feature film debut for Ulyssov, a renowned producer whose credits include feature animation Mafka: Song of the ForestDiana Maria Olson Let me go homeas well as co-producer of Agnieszka Holland’s 2019 drama Mr. JonesThe movie is about the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s triggered by Joseph Stalin’s political policies.
“It is a reflection of human endurance and adaptability, even when faced with the unimaginable. Daughter Olesov says of his new movie: “It explores how we find hope not in grand gestures, but in the smallest acts of courage and compassion.”
Olesov also produced the film with Olga Maksiuk under the Heroes Films banner, the feature film and scripted series division of United Heroes Group. The feature is scheduled for release in Ukraine in 2025.
“With this acquisition, WTFilms is expanding 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.