Autumn Memories about love and war

I am not afraid to repeat that the rumors saying that the cinema, Ukrainian one in particular, is dead are very much exaggerated. While someone complains that the money allotted for cinema production is catastrophically little and that the potential talents are “buried,” in the village of Dobrohostiv, which is located 20 kilometers away from Truskavets (Lviv oblast), the shooting of a feature fiction picture Autumn Memories has begun. This is a simple story about the most important things in human live. The postwar syndrome of Ukrainian activist, volunteer, ATO serviceman Anatolii (Dmytro Linartovych), who after injury comes for treatment to western Ukraine. The dramatic destiny of an Iraqi refugee Ime (Nazanin Ahmadi). About almost an existential life tragedy of simple villagers Sashko (Oleksandr Ihnatusha) and Natalia (Tetiana Yurikova). But first and foremost this is a film about humanity. About love that helps people survive through the most difficult shocks in live, gives faith in the future. And if the feeling is sincere, neither age, nor mental or cultural disparities, or language issue can stand in the way of it.

The journalist landing force, to which the authors of the film decided to reveal some of their creative secrets, got in the shooting ground, when one of the key episodes of the picture was shot. Local boy Ivanko comes to Sashko’s workshop, where Anatolii who has just returned from ATO is working, and asks him what war is. Anatolii tells the boy about Maidan and explains that defending one’s fatherland is a duty and honor for any man. Ivanko doesn’t understand everything, but he listens attentively. At this moment a neighbor runs up to them to say that an unknown girl was found unconscious in the forest. Actually, this is the entanglement of the movie.

The episode was shot in a real workshop of one of Dobrohostiv villagers, flamboyant Mykola. And while the crew was creating the scene, setting up the lights, the owner told the story of the name of the village: not far from it there is a well, and in the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, chumaks who were tired by long foot trips, came across it by accident. They drank some water and had rest, and as a sign of gratitude they called this place Dobrohostiv, which means a hospitable place. For the shooting crew of the film Autumn Memories the name proved to be true. It received the filmmakers hospitably – some residents even provided their houses for shooting separate episodes. But Mykola was unwilling at first to let the group into his workshop, which the director liked a lot, “They have come many times – I didn’t want them to shoot at my place, I wasn’t interested. But then I had to let them in. Now I have calmed down,” the owner smiles cunningly. “I have cooked potatoes for them several times. They said they liked it.”

The casting for episodic roles was announced in Truskavets and Drohobych. A bellicose resident of Truskavets, schoolboy Nazar (Ivanko) has already passed it. Moreover, he thinks that namely his role is the leading one in the film and dreams to buy a cool iPad for the honorarium.

“QUIET IN THE SHOOTING GROUND! MOTOR! ACTION!” THE SCENE SHOWS OLEKSANDR IHNATUSHA

Soon the shooting of the episode in the workshop began, and the journalists had to become simple observers. But cinema is not only a synthetic art, which has been known for a long time, but it also includes the filming process, which is often cut into pauses, during which I had an opportunity to talk to many participants of the process. The separate puzzles created quite a voluminous picture of the future film.

Ali Fakhr MOUSAVI, Iranian film director, married to a Russian-speaking Ukrainian from Novohrad-Volynsky, he lives and works in the Czech Republic:

“My favorite writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes, ‘As long as you fall in love, you are young, if you don’t fall in love, you’re old.’ I have always pondered over the situation: what will happen if two men, a young and an old one, fall in love with a young beautiful girl? Everything is even more complicated in our film – Ime (this is the name of the heroine) comes from another country and she doesn’t know the language. I like such stories – a drama with non-typical (for me very important) relationships between the heroes.”

Victor VILHELM, Czech producer, married to Ukrainian, lives both in Ukraine and in the Czech Republic:

“When the idea of this film emerged, I immediately thought about Ukraine, because it is in a sense my second homeland. At first we planned to shoot in Lviv though, but the budget of the film is quite small, so we had problems. I immediately recalled Truskavets, because I have many times taken part in the International Film festival ‘Crown of the Carpathians,’ I know the places well and I like them. Besides, we are receiving maximum help here, which is very important, because we are planning to finish the shooting in a month, before the end of autumn.”

Oleksandr IHNATUSHA, actor (Ukraine):

“I like the storyline of Autumn Memories, because it is simple and clear. Another thing is what to fill it with, but this already depends on us, the actors and the director. I would like to avoid emptiness between the phrases, I would like biographies to be read between the lines. I very much like that Ali selects the ‘letters’ very thoroughly. So, if he can substitute didactics with cinema means, he does this. He shoots cinema in its primary meaning. Besides (I don’t know whether the director has actor’s experience) he helps with some professional things very subtly. He knows every nuance he wants to see on screen.

“Strange as it may seem, at this stage the style of our work resembles me to some extent Bergman’s style – the silence on the screen, innuendo glances. Especially in the scenes with Natalia (Tetiana Yurikova). We have a common child with her, but this is our secret. Someone touches, someone pulls out hand. Someone cannot but touch, the other one cannot stand this touch. These are the nuances that in modern TV series are simply ignored – there the more words you say, the more action you are supposed to show.

“This story is about the war without showing it, but it is still present, which is very important. At least I felt this in the screenplay. I think Ali feels this too and clearly develops the ‘war line.’ Yesterday we accidentally shot a wonderful scene: an ATO serviceman approaches my home, and suddenly a herd of cows crosses his way. The metaphor emerges immediately: a sacred animal and a massacre. It is read very well. I think the audience will understand.

“The so-called love line is non-trivial. Refugee Ima comes from Iraq. Her role is played by Iranian actress Nazanin. She comes from a different world, she’s a Muslim. This is a different culture, different mentality. We look at many things, even routine, differently. But maybe this is an advantage. If Ima’s role was performed by a Ukrainian actress, we would have had to invent some situational things, and in this case everything is natural. Ima finds herself in an unknown world, gets to know it, and this (our) world looks at the refugee with new eyes.”

Dmytro LINARTOVYCH, actor (Ukraine):

“At first I will tell you an incident from my life. One day in the morning a doorbell rang in my apartment – a draft notice was brought. I was called up to the service in the ATO, but first I had to undergo military training in the Rivne training area. And several days later I got a call from producer Victor Vilhelm. He offered me a role in a movie. I read the screenplay and I liked it. Naturally, I couldn’t leave the training area even for a day. But Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense met the shooting crew half-way and gave permission for my work in this film. That is why today I am at the shooting ground. The story we are telling is important for me personally out of human reasons. I’ve talked to many servicemen who have gone through the ATO, and I          know that the postwar syndrome is an important and terrible moment in their lives, first and foremost psychologically. And our film tells how a soldier who has returned from the war learns to live again. Autumn Memories is a personal story, a gulp of fresh air which we all are lacking now.”

Tetiana YURIKOVA, actress (Ukraine):

“There is no doubt that the topic of the film, love and war, is always emotionally touching. And today, when the war is underway in the east of Ukraine and Near East, it is especially important and painful for our countries. For me and my heroine this is above all a universal story. A story of love between two people. And it doesn’t matter in what country they live, and what year the calendar shows.”

Oleh KARPYN, director of the International Film Festival “Crown of the Carpathians” (Ukraine):

If Oleh Karpyn, public figure, a volunteer movement activist didn’t live in Truskavets, he should have been invented. He so sincerely loves his small homeland, Lviv region, and the country of Ukraine that he is ready to take up any cause, no matter how difficult it is, even if he doesn’t know anything about it, to make the resort Truskavets a comfortable, wealthy, and famous place. Typically, he is successful in everything.

“I often say that I’m a dreamer, but I go to the end to achieve my dream. Six years ago we decided to organize the International Film Festival ‘Crown of the Carpathians,’ and we succeeded. Today our forum is known not only in Lviv oblast, in Ukraine, but abroad as well,” Oleh said. “Famous actors, directors, singers come with pleasure to our festival and bring wonderful, high-quality films. And this is not just propaganda of cinematography, but also promotion of the Truskavets Resort, in order to boost the flow of tourists to Lviv region.

“For all these years I’ve been thinking on how good it would be to shoot films in our region, in the Carpathians, but I didn’t know how to start the realization of such plans. At past year’s ‘Crown of the Carpathians,’ when Crimea was temporarily unavailable for Ukrainian filmmakers, we arranged a meeting, which was attended by the representatives of the State Agency for Cinema of Ukraine, and this question was raised. They supported our idea. If hundreds of millions dollars are spent annually for purchasing western, often not very good cinema and television production, why can’t we use this money within the country? There are numerous arguments in favor of this idea.

“First, the transport infrastructure is well developed in Lviv oblast. Many daytime and night trains run from Kyiv to Lviv and Truskavets. Actors cannot live constantly in an expedition, on the following day after the scenes with them are shot, they have a performance on a stage of a capital theater, for example. There is an international airport located 90 kilometers away from Truskavets, which provides a real opportunity to work with foreign partners.

“The nature and architecture of Lviv region allow shooting films of various genres in our region – in the radius of 150 kilometers from Truskavets there are mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and castles. Hutsul, Boiko, Lemky regions are located nearby, they are a Klondike for all kinds of folklore plots. All these facts lie on the surface.

“But at first we had to create the so-called film commission. This kind of organizations (they often exist in municipalities or closely cooperate with them) has existed for a long time in other countries. They take a direct and active part in preparation for shooting films and actually filming process. The members of the film commissions know very well all the locations of the region which might be interesting for the filmmakers (they have booklets with photos and videos). They directly contact the city or the village’s authorities, which helps to quickly solve some urgent problems during the shooting period – close the roads, rent schools, hospitals, provide the housing and catering for the shooting crew, etc. Some countries even have a law: if during the shooting process five million dollars or euros get into the state budget as investments, the municipality may approve the decision to return 10 (or even 20) percent from the tax. In such a way the desire of the investors to put money into cinematography and shoot films in specific regions is encouraged.

“Second argument. During the shooting process new jobs appear in the city or region, hotels are full, the flow of people increases in cafes and restaurants.

“Third. If the film is made in Lviv oblast, its nature, architecture monuments will be discovered by people from other cities and countries, which will automatically boost the flow of tourists in our region who will come to see this beauty with their own eyes. This is a real influx of money into the region.

“There is also the fourth argument, which concerns the prospects that open before the locality where the film is made. I would call it the creme. If the film is successful, moreover, if it becomes a bestseller, in the places where it was shot tours will be held. Like it was with blockbusters Star Wars, Hobbit, and many other successful western projects. By the way, we have precedents in Ukraine – the Khotyn Fortress in Kamianets-Podilsky raion of Khmelnytsky oblast. There at different periods of time the pictures Viper, Zakhar Berkut, Arrows of Robin Hood, D’Artagnan and Three Musketeers, The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe, Taras Bulba were shot, and these facts are creatively used by the guides during the tours. But the brightest example is the popular series Game of Thrones. Today to Croatia, where the series were shot, hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world are coming to see with their own eyes the palaces they remember from the film. And it has brought 18 million dollars to the treasury of the country. Only owing to the flow of tourists, the Croatian budget has grown by 10 percent.

“I have studied these nuances for a year, written letters to different film studios, offering them cooperation with our region. Some of them took interest in my offers. Director Oleh Shcherbyna and Italian filmmakers have already come to our town to see the location, as well as Kyiv producer and script writer Tetiana Hniedash. Of course, I understood that projects do not appear in the blink of an eye, but I continued to hope that after some time we will start to shoot cinema in Lviv oblast.

“We were helped by an incident. I would say a sad incident. As volunteers, we were looking for an armored vehicle for the ATO area. We found it in the Czech Republic, but were unable to come to agreement with its owner, either in terms of the price, or the fact of purchase. Then I called producer Victor Vilhelm from Prague, who I knew personally, and asked him for help. He immediately called the owner of the vehicle, our representatives were in the Czech Republic on the next day, they filed the documents for the car, and now the vehicle is in the east.

“Soon after that I received a phone call from Victor who said that he was going to visit Truskavets to see locations for the future film. He came and took a look. Later he called again, ‘We are beginning to shoot the film in October.’ I was confused, I thought it was a distant future. I tried to persuade the producer to postpone the shooting, because the time was inappropriate: the hotels are still full (this year starting with June and July we have had a huge flow of tourists), the preparation for the elections is underway, the residents of Truskavets have a lot of problems without cinema. Victor was unrelenting, he said that out of many reasons the picture should be made before the end of autumn.

“And it was a success. On October 7, the first shooting day the director of the film Autumn Memories Ali Fakhr Mousavi traditionally broke a plate for success. Now the shooting process is in full swing, without fuss or breaks. Incidentally, the ATO serviceman who received the Czech armored car from the volunteers has demobilized, arrived to Truskavets, and today is supposed to take part in a casting for an episodic role (according to the plot for one scene we need a hero who has returned from the war in the east). You see, everything is intertwined in our life. My second dream is coming to life even sooner than I thought.

“And now I’m making more large-scale plans for the future. I want to shoot a film about a local national hero, UPA warrior Roman Rizniak (‘Makomatsky’). He is a legendary personality. Before the World War Two he was the king of football, he played for Truskavets Zoria. When the war began, his brother Myroslav many times reproached Roman for thinking only about girls and parties, encouraged him to enter the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and fight the enemy. Roman refused, arguing that it was not a proper time for him. After Myroslav was arrested and tortured to death in the torture chambers of the NKVD, Rizniak entered the OUN. The organization sent him to undergo special training in Munich, and after that he returned to homeland to work undercover. With falsified documents, dressed as a German officer (he spoke the language fluently), he took weapons out from German warehouses. One day the operation failed, Rizniak was wounded, but he lived, and appeared in the Truskavets-Drohobych orbit again. Now, wearing already the uniform of the Soviet officer, he gets into the military hospital, plays cards and drinks vodka with the wounded, listens to their talks that they would catch ‘this intangible Makomatsky’ [Rizniak’s pseudonym. – Author] anyway. He left the hospital, leaving an autograph on the sheets, ‘Makomatsky was here’!

“And there were many adventures and dangerous episodes like this in Roman Rizniak’s biography. Germans and NKVD tried to catch him, but they failed. Then Stalin’s friend General-Major Saburov was appointed the head of the NKVD of the oblast to Drohobych from Moscow. His task was to find Makomatsky at any cost. And Rizniak started a love affair with the general’s wife, Jewish beauty Nina, who told him the secret information, so he was invincible again.

“The NKVD traced down Makomatsky. He shot back till the last cartridge, and when he was surrounded, he blew up a grenade. Roman Rizniak’s family, exiled to Siberia, received a telegram from their friends, ‘A wedding took place in Pomirky [a locality near Truskavets. – Author] Roman was the bridegroom.’

“I am telling this story in detail, so that the readers of your newspaper understood how many enchanting plots and real heroes are hidden in our land. You should agree, if the film about Roman Rizniak (Makomatsky) is ever made, it may really become a bestseller, no less popular than the films about James Bond. But it will be about a Ukrainian superman. Hopefully, my dream will come true, because the groundwork has been laid – the shooting of Ukrainian-Iranian-Czech film Autumn Memories is underway. Let’s wish success to this international creative team.”