Oleksandr Roshchyn
MAMAYI
Ukraine, 2009. Two TV reporters are forced into a dirty election campaign for pro-Russian candidate Yanukovych. Can they resist the pressure and stay honest with their work and the people?
SYNOPSIS
Ukraine, autumn 2009. Amid economic crisis and widespread disappointment, experienced but disillusioned TV journalist Viktor Tsvilikhovsky and his young idealistic cameraman travel to eastern Ukraine to produce a series of political reports during the presidential election campaign. They soon discover that the channel’s owner, an ally of pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych, pressures journalists to shape coverage in his favour. At first, Tsvilikhovsky adapts to the political constraints, reassured by a long-time editor who makes the assignment seem manageable. the situation escalates, however, when the media owner, through his ambitious assistant, offers Tsvilikhovsky a senior role in the candidate’s media campaign team. As Yanukovych’s agenda clashes with his own values, and the cameraman refuses to compromise, Tsvilikhovsky faces a moral crisis. The growing threat to the country’s future outweighs any personal gain. After a violent confrontation, he finds the courage to resist. The reporters prepare an exposé for another channel. Though they cannot change the course of the campaign, Tsvilikhovsky preserves his integrity and begins a personal and professional rebirth.
DIRECTOR
Oleksandr Roshchyn
PRODUCER
Viktor Shevchenko
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Packgauz
COUNTRIES
Ukraine
Oleksandr Roshchyn
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Sashko Roshchyn was born to Ukrainian parents in Mongolia in 1982 and studied cinematography at the I. K. Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television. He made his debut as a cinematographer in 2011 with the short film Haidamaka, produced by the Dovzhenko Film Studio. As a cinematographer, he has collaborated with leading Ukrainian directors including Arkadiy Nepytaliuk, Kateryna Gornostai, Daria Onyshchenko, Pavlo Ostrikov, and Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. Among his notable works are Stop-Zemlia, which had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2021 and won the Crystal Bear, and Timestamp, which premiered in the Berlinale Competition in 2025 and earned Roshchyn the Ukrainian Film Academy’s Golden Dzyga Award for Best Cinematography. During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Roshchyn began developing his own projects, directing his first fiction short film, On a Stringer.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
The idea for this film first emerged in 2009, when I was a film school student working as a television cameraman. During a lengthy assignment in Ukraine, I began observing and imagining the personal drama of a journalist unfolding against the backdrop of pivotal socio-political events. The story is told from the perspective of forty-something Viktor Tsvilikhovsky, a disillusioned television journalist experiencing both professional and personal crises while working on a dirty political media campaign. The film operates on two levels: the sweeping scale of socio-political developments and the intimate portrayal of a man trapped in what appears to be an inescapable personal crisis. I am interested in making a political film about the period between Ukraine's two Maidans, when widespread public disappointment and civic powerlessness enabled the victory of an anti-Ukrainian presidential candidate. It is a film about witnessing the approach of a catastrophe – about the ability to foresee it and the inability to prevent it. Conceived as a journalistic drama infused with bitter humour, it is driven by a compelling narrative enriched with elements of the road movie and film noir, balancing auteur cinema with broad audience appeal.
Viktor Shevchenko
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY
Viktor Shevchenko is a Ukrainian film producer and a member of the European Film Academy, the Ukrainian Film Academy, and Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema, an association of young independent filmmakers. He is the Chair of the Association of Location Managers of Ukraine and holds a master’s degree in film production management from the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. His professional development experience includes participation in the CineLink Producers’ Lab at the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2024, the Global Media Makers Residency organised by Film Independent in collaboration with EAVE at the Trieste Film Festival in 2025, and MIDPOINT Intensive Ukraine in 2025. He has worked on films directed by Agnieszka Holland (Mr. Jones), Šarūnas Bartas (Frost), Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Pamfir; Something Strange Happened to Me), and Philip Sotnychenko (La Palisiada). These projects provided him with extensive experience within the international production landscape and complex filming environments. As an independent producer, his credits include Kateryna Gornostai’s documentary Timestamp (), which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2025, and Yarema Malaschuk and Roman Khimei’s short film Additional Scenes (), winner of the Best Rebel with a Cause Short Film Award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2024. He also produced It Is Quiet Here (2022), which premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
PRODUCER’S STATEMENT
Mamayi will be the first feature film by Ukrainian writer and director Sashko Roshchyn. While working as a television camera operator, Roshchyn was a direct participant in the events that shaped the film’s story. He crafts an intimate yet politically charged drama set during a quiet period between two Ukrainian revolutions. At its heart, the film looks at the fragile world of journalists, showing how the media became a place for manipulation and propaganda. By combining two different visual styles, Mamayi captures the strong feeling of coming changes, balancing social reflection with elements of a road movie and film noir. Following the international success of Roshchyn’s latest short film, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival, and his recent work as a director of photography in the main competition of the Berlinale, we believe this project has strong international potential. Developed through Film Independent's Global Media Makers and MIDPOINT Intensive Ukraine, Mamayi has been submitted to the current funding competition of the Ukrainian State Film Agency and is being shaped as a European co-production. We are looking for co-producers, sales agents, and broadcasters who want to support stories about historical memory and press manipulation – a theme that is very important today and that significantly affects events around the world.
Production company profile
Packgauz is an independent production company specialising in the creation of short and feature-length films. It was founded in 2022. The company strives to discover new talents and create films on current social topics that have potential for both festival and theatrical release.
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
1.200,000 €
FINANCES PENDING
1.190,000 €
FINANCING IN PLACE
10.000 €
Production timeline
January 2026 - March 2027
Project development, financing
March 2027 - September 2027
Pre-production
October 2026 - December 2027
Shooting
January 2028 - June 2028
Post-production
2028
Premiere