Olesia Lukianenko
The Wrong Man
When her son is wrongly accused of murder, TANYA dares to challenge the criminal justice system and tracks down the serial killer who hasn’t been caught for over twenty years.
SYNOPSIS
When her son is wrongly accused of murder, TANYA dares to challenge the criminal justice system and tracks down the serial killer who hasn’t gotten caught for over twenty years. Inspired by Tkach’s case (the most prolific serial killer in Ukraine), THE WRONG MAN follows the story of a 33-year-old single mother, TETYANA FEDOROVICH (Tanya), whose 17-year-old son GRYSHA, is accused of raping and murdering his female classmate. On top of being bullied and threatened by locals, Tanya discovers that the criminal justice system has no interest in conducting a proper investigation and immediately decides Grysha is their guy. NAZARYEV, the detective in charge of the case, goes as far as to pressure Grysha into confessing to the horrendous murder. Fearing the upcoming trial, Tanya hires the expensive criminal lawyer BONDARYEVA, who has ulterior motives. Tanya is losing hope until a new rape and murder case in town gives her a reason to believe that there could be a serial killer at large no one is looking for. Despite Nazaryev’s effort to derail her investigation, Tanya pairs up with her lawyer and soon realises the scope of the challenge. The unknown yet obviously skilful rapist-killer has been getting away with his murders for years, leaving behind a track of underaged female victims, wrongly accused men, and many broken families suffering from loss and shame.
SCRIPTWRITER
Iryna Zhygaliuk
PRODUCERS
Olesia Lukianenko
Kateryna Vyshnevska
PRODUCTION COMPANY
FILM.UA Group
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR
About Premium Content
COUNTRY
Ukraine
FORMAT
60' x 8
GENRE
Crime
Drama
Olesia Lukianenko
OLESIA LUKIANENKO is a creative producer at the leading Ukrainian film studio FILM.UA Group with over 12 years of experience in creating series. She specialises in developing and producing drama series across different genres. She is a Faculty of Cinema History graduate at The Kyiv National Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University, as well as the Faculty of Journalism at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine. Also, she is credited with several award-winning projects. THERE WILL BE PEOPLE (2020) won Pitch UA and received support from USAID and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. The project was subsequently aired on the national TV channel STB in September 2020 and has amassed over 3.7 million views on FILM.UA's YouTube channel. Her series HIDE AND SEEK (2019), distributed internationally by ZDF Enterprises, was selected as one of the ten most anticipated TV series worldwide by MIP Drama Summit in Cannes, France. The series has been sold to numerous countries, including the USA, English-speaking Canada, Germany, Italy, Benelux countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Estonia. She was a member of the Jury of the Grant Program: script development and exclusive online sessions with experts from the international film industry by the Ukrainian Film Academy and Netflix.
We began developing this story with the well-known French company About Premier Content before the full-scale war in Ukraine. They will handle international distribution for the project. We have already gained experience in creating local projects with international success. For instance, our crime drama HIDE AND SEEK has been showcased at numerous festivals and distributed worldwide. Why do we consider this story to have international relevance? Unpunished crimes give rise to more crimes. This issue carries significant weight in today's geopolitical landscape. There are several examples, such as the killing civilians during the Ukrainian Maidan, the Russian annexation of Crimea, and the downing of Flight Boeing 717 with nearly 300 people on board. If these crimes had been timely resolved and their perpetrators held accountable, would we be witnessing the war in Ukraine today? Unpunished crimes give rise to more crimes. It is not only individuals but also systems that can be serial killers.
CREATOR’S STATEMENT
Kateryna Vyshnevska
KATERYNA VYSHNEVSKA is a producer and international development executive responsible for the global development efforts of Ukraine’s leading TV and film studio - FILM.UA Group. She evaluates, develops, and executive produces scripted content across all genres (ranging from original content to local adaptations of successful scripted formats) and oversees international development and co-production partnerships. She has projects in development or production with partners in France, Italy, Iceland, Israel, and Canada. She is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys). Vyshnevska has served as a juror for multiple international drama awards, including International Emmy and Rockie Awards, MIA Drama and NATPE Budapest Advisory Committee. She is a regular guest speaker at key industry events such as Series Mania, Content London, Black Nights Film Festival and MIA.
Production company profile
FILM.UA GROUP is a creative Eastern European powerhouse and a leading producer of premium scripted drama in Ukraine. A few of the company’s milestones include: THERE WILL BE PEOPLE (2020), the leader in TV viewing in Ukraine; THE SNIFFER (2013), the first Ukrainian series picked up by Netflix and sold to many countries; HIDE AND SEEK (2019), critically acclaimed miniseries distributed internationally by ZDF; LOVE IN CHAINS (2019), co-produced with TVP (Poland), sold to over twenty countries and many others, including feature films and animation, 86 international awards, 166 nominations, over 200 million viewers watching their content.
Where are we at?
ESTIMATED PRODUCTION BUDGET FOR THE FIRST SEASON
2.060.000 EUR
FINANCING IN PLACE
35.000 EUR
Production timeline
SPRING 2024
Pre-production
SUMMER 2024
Production
AUTUMN 2024
Post-production