Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich and producer Anna Yatsenko presented their upcoming film project Screaming Girl at the KVIFF Central Stage during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on July 6.
The Ukrainian-Irish project has already attracted significant international support. Ireland’s national film agency Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland approved €650,000 in production funding, making it one of the largest international investments in a Ukrainian-Irish film project in recent years.
Screaming Girl is an absurdist tragicomedy with elements of magical realism. The film follows Sasha, a Ukrainian woman who moves to Dublin after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, works as a cleaner, and meets Barry, a former famous Irish actor.
According to Lukich, Sasha’s life changes when, on a film set, a costume with a two-meter spear mysteriously becomes attached to her body. While the world around her accepts the strange situation with surprising calmness, Sasha must learn how to live with her new reality.
Lukich co-wrote the screenplay with Irish screenwriter Ailbhe Keogan, known for her work on the series Bad Sisters. Keogan has also been nominated for a BAFTA television award and received an Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for the drama series Trespasses.
The film’s casting is led by Irish casting director Áine O’Sullivan, whose previous projects include Mother Mary starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, and Saipan with Steve Coogan.
The production team has not yet revealed the actor who will play the main male role, saying negotiations with internationally recognized performers are ongoing.
Screaming Girl is being produced by Ukrainian company ForeFilms and Irish company Feline Films.
