UKRAINIAN DIRECTOR DARYA Onishchenko is ready to shoot in the UAE art picture "Roksolana" - a modern version of a story in which UKRAINIAN girls get DUBAI familiar with the successful business and become one of his many wives.
Everything would be fine if fairy tales ended on this. However, the heroine of the picture is faced with many issues of difficult choice. We talked about this and the very idea of creating a film on a well-known historical plot with Daria Onishchenko, the director of the film, during her visit to the UAE.
Daria, please tell me why you decided to revert to the history of Roksolana, and how did your choice fall on the United Arab Emirates?
I'll start with the second part of the question. Now in the entire Arab region, cinema is developing rapidly only in the United Arab Emirates, and, perhaps, even in Qatar. As a matter of fact, my choice in favor of the UAE was made precisely for this reason. I have been living in Germany for the past six years, and mainly deal with the co-production of films. We have already cooperated with Turkey, so it is no longer interesting to our German or our Ukrainian partners. And in the United Arab Emirates, a film fund is organized today, and annual international film festivals are held. This is more interesting. In addition, there are all conditions for filming, there are offices of international studios.
You are right, the plot of my new film comes from the history of the real Roksolana, or simply Nastya, who in the 16th century, enslaved to the Turks, ended up in the harem of the Sultan Suleiman. After a short time, she turned into his beloved wife, the one who ultimately had the greatest influence in resolving state issues, kept everything under control and constantly smiled, for which she was called Hurem. We thought that since the Russian-speaking diaspora in the UAE is rather big, why don’t we move the scene here.
Modern author's cinema poses many questions to the viewer. The answers to which of them would you like to find by shooting this film?
In our new picture, we set ourselves and the viewer rather sensitive on the one hand and very sharp - on the other, such as the problems of international human trafficking, prostitution, terrorism, money laundering and others against the background of the personal drama of the main character and her constant the choice between the native Orthodox faith and Islam, love and duty. She will have to fight for her love and deal with polygamy, the strict orders of the East, resist fate and bail out her beloved from the hands of the mafia.
However, I will not say that the themes of international terrorism and other acute problems of our time will become dominant in our picture, they will sound in the background. My goal is, first of all, to talk about a strong woman, a charismatic personality who seeks power, true love and is not afraid to fight for her fate. Moreover, today there is a certain clash of worlds - the Muslim world is moving towards our Christian one, and vice versa, and therefore I am interested in talking about the convergence of religions, and the convergence of cultures and how my heroine, the daughter of a Christian priest, falls in love with an Arab man. For me, this is, above all, a film about love and rapprochement of peoples. This is an extremely interesting moment! It seems to me that more and more Muslim women are trying to gain independence, get an education, find a job and not just be housewives. And the reverse trend is that more and more women in European countries accept Islam and become housewives, simply because they want to feel like wives and mothers, because for the last 30-40 years they have only done what they worked and built their careers. This is an amazing phenomenon!
Who worked on the script?
I wrote the script myself. But already in the Emirates, we brought in the collaboration of the famous Arab playwright Ahmed Arshi to help me bring the script into the form most adapted for perception by the local audience.
Where will the castings be held? Are the actors selected for the main roles?
Since our film will be an international joint production of Germany, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, I intend to conduct part of the filming in Ukraine, a small part in Munich and the main one here. Therefore, castings will be held in all three countries, including the UAE. We will be making a film in English with the inclusion of other major languages.
I would really like our Roxolana to be played by actress Mila Kunis. But so far we have no final confirmation. Mila is a well-known American actress of Ukrainian descent, who was born in Western Ukraine, near Rogotin, where in the 16th century the historical Rosksolana was born. For the role of the main character, we now have many offers from different countries of the region, including from the UAE. Will it be a Syrian, Emirate or Egyptian actor, I do not know yet. The choice is difficult, there are many real beauties and celebrities among the applicants. To me, as a young aspiring director, and this will be my second full-length picture, it is very important that the stars play the main roles, which will go to the audience.
Who will finance Rossxolana?
On the Ukrainian side, the film is funded by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. The executive producers of the film in the United Arab Emirates are Ksenia Zhornokley and Hussein Al Amri, they are just negotiating on the financing of filming and the preparation of the entire technical side. It will be a drama with elements of a thriller, so we will have large scenes with extras. Actually, it will be a full-length picture lasting 90 minutes, so we plan to involve a fairly large number of people in it. The picture is commercial, further intended for the general public.
When do you plan to start shooting?
If everything goes according to our plan, then most likely the shooting will begin this fall. Of course, I would very much like for the premiere of our Roskolana to take place at one of the international film festivals held in the UAE - in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Thanks for the conversation, Daria. Allow me to wish you and your film crew success. And we will look forward to the release of "Roksolana" on a wide screen.
A word to the producer
Ksenia Zhornokley - Ukrainian. After graduating from the Master of Performing Arts in Paris, she continued her education at the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi. Then, as a TV presenter, Ksenia trained at the Twofour 54 Academy. She carried out several of her own film projects in the Emirates, worked at international film festivals, and founded her own company along with the most popular Arab television presenter in the Middle East, Hussein Al Amri.
“The story we are retelling in a new way is already familiar to everyone both in our country and beyond. Roksolana is a Ukrainian girl who has become the beloved wife of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Only in the modern version are there terrorism and human trafficking. Love does not leave in the background, it is the main element of our history.Of course, as a resident of the Emirates and a Ukrainian by origin, I want to talk about what kind of female destiny is possible here, which sometimes hides under oriental silks, and which means all the gold that is bestowed upon yang brides. Together with my partner we are currently engaged in producing television projects. This specialization Hussein Al Amri.
Yet art is closer to my heart. I always dreamed of telling about the fate of our girls in the Arab world, where there is a fairy tale, but also very severe morals and strict concepts. Having become the executive producer of Roxolana in the United Arab Emirates, I am happy that I finally got this opportunity. Daria Onishchenko has a very realistic style of filming, she can perfectly convey the whole truth. I had to meet our compatriots in the countries of the East in a variety of roles. Away from the well-trodled tourist routes, which bright booklets tell about, many of our girls get married and convert to Islam, and some simply disappear. Among them are those who marry real princes. Where is reality and where is the tale we have to tell in the new film, "- explains Ksenia Zhornokley.
