A film adaptation of “The Bullfighters of Vasyukivka” by writer Vsevolod Nestaiko will be released in Ukraine
ForeFilms has announced the start of production on a feature-length film based on the popular children’s book “Toreadors from Vasyukivka” by Vsevolod Nestaiko.
Details of the project were announced in a press release sent to the media.
The film is directed by Roman Krasnoshchok and Anton Chistyakov, who previously collaborated on such projects as “The Last Day of Youth” (2021), “Education in Height” (2022), and the documentary “We Are Home” (2023), the voice-over text of which was read by Stephen Fry.
“Toreadors from Vasyukivka” will be the debut feature-length work for both directors.
“For the first time since Ukraine’s independence, Vsevolod Nestaiko’s descendants have transferred the rights to adapt this work, so viewers will soon be able to see a story about two friends who dream of fame and find themselves in comical situations,” the report says.
Back in June 2024, Krasnoshchok noted that the directors had received the rights to adapt the book.
The original trilogy “The Bullfighters of Vasyukivka,” written by Nestaiko between 1963 and 1970, has become one of the most beloved children’s books in Ukraine. The plot centers on the adventures of two friends, Java and Pavlusha, who strive for fame by constantly inventing new tricks.
The book has been translated into more than twenty languages and is included in school curricula. In 1979, it was included in the Hans Christian Andersen Honorary List, approved by the International Council on Children’s and Young Adult Literature.
The first film adaptation appeared back in 1965 as a short film directed by Samariy Zelikin. Viktor Ivanov also tried to make a full-length version, but due to censorship in the USSR, the project was not realized.
ForeFilms has secured the rights to the film adaptation and has officially begun production, which could become one of the most anticipated film premieres in the coming years.
ForeFilms is a Ukrainian film company founded in 2020 by Anna and Volodymyr Yatsenko. It has already produced several well-known Ukrainian films, including “Luxembourg, Luxembourg” by Antonio Lukich, “Me and Felix” by Iryna Tsilyk, “Glare” by Valentyn Vasyanovych, and “You are the Space” by Pavel Ostrikov.
