Netflix and the Ukrainian Film Academy Announce new list of  movies selected for Script Development Grant Support

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The Ukrainian Film Academy, in partnership with Netflix, announces the list of projects receiving the next round of its script development Grants. At its fifth edition, the initiative continues to support Ukrainian filmmakers and the Ukrainian film industry impacted by the war. The primary goal of the program is to provide support for film projects at the development stage. This is a crucial phase in shaping the artistic concept, ensuring dramaturgical coherence, and defining the project’s overall strategy, which is decisive for production, international co-delivered production, and distribution.

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This year’s program offers: 15 grants of $15,000 USD each (at the interbank exchange rate) will be awarded. Eligibility was open for original director-driven feature-length fiction films (70 minutes or longer) that were in the development stage at the time of application. Grant recipients also receive:

• Translation of the script into English (facilitated by the Ukrainian Film Academy);

• Exclusive mentoring sessions with leading producers and consultations with script doctors from EAVE experts (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs);

• In-Conversation sessions led, among others, by producer Anna Kępińska and screenwriter Kasper Bajon (High Water, Heweliusz), and by screenwriters Klara Kochańska-Bajon and Nina Lewandowska (Mothers of Penguins).

 

The projects were evaluated by five international experts: 

• Kristina Åberg, film producer, CEO and founder of Atmo (Sweden) 

• Jonas Dornbach, film producer, CEO and partner at Komplizen Film and Komplizen Serien (Germany) 

• Marija Razgutė, film producer, founder of M-Films and board member of the European Film Academy (Lithuania) 

• Ada Solomon, film producer, chair of the board of the European Film Academy (Romania)

• Mariusz Włodarski, film producer, founder and head of Lava Films (Poland) 

 

List of projects selected as Grant Recipients of the Script Development Program and Exclusive Online Sessions with EAVE Experts:

• Bittersweet, with a Faint Trace of Nitro Compounds, scriptwriter Mykola Zasieiev, producer Mykola Korotkiy, director Mykola Zasieiev

• Deus ex machina, scriptwriter Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi, producer Roman Klympush, director Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi

• In Bloom, scriptwriter Yura Katynsky, producer Alexandra Bratyshchenko, director Yura Katynsky

• Intimate Scene, scriptwriter Zhanna Ozirna, producer Valeria Sochyvets, director Zhanna Ozirna

• Light Sensitivity, scriptwriter Nikon Romanchenko, producer Kateryna Gornostai, director Nikon Romanchenko

• Maternal Instinct, scriptwriter Andrii Babik, producer Olha Panteleimonova, director Oleksandr Budonnyi

• New Story, scriptwriter Valentyn Vasyanovych, producer Iya Myslytska, director Valentyn Vasyanovych

• Nine Checkpoints, scriptwriter Myroslav Latyk, producer Oksana Ivanyuk, director Myroslav Latyk

• Portrait of the Tyrant, scriptwriter Antonio Lukich, producer Anna Yatsenko, director Antonio Lukich

• Skein (working title), scriptwriter Alina Panasenko, producer Lyuba Knorozok, director Alina Panasenko

• Stars in the Dregs, scriptwriter Nariman Aliev, producer Volodymyr Yatsenko, director Nariman Aliev

• The Falling of Bakhmut, scriptwriter Marysia Nikitiuk, producer Olha Bregman, director Marysia Nikitiuk

• The Shape of Light, scriptwriter Egor Olesov, producer Pavlo Cherepin, director Egor Olesov

• The Slum Boxer, scriptwriter Anna Smirnova, producer Kateryna Laskari, director Marko Podolian

• What’s Wrong With You, Adriane?, scriptwriter Anastasiia Hetman, producer Eduard Yevtushenko, director Maryna Sofiichuk

 

This year's edition of the Grant Program and previous initiatives by Netflix and its partners offer not only financial assistance to Ukrainian artists for the creation of new films and the post-production of existing feature projects, but also international best practices and knowledge from industry experts. Over the last four years, 200 industry professionals have received stipends for creative purposes; education and mentoring have been offered to over 900 Ukrainian filmmakers, scriptwriters, producers, and others in the creative community. Script development grants distributed through the Ukrainian Film Academy strengthened a total of 73 film projects while 30 advanced films got financial assistance to complete post-production.