Ukrainian content producer and developer Star Media is still more active than ever. The company has embarked on a new production strategy in partnership with its producer partners, who continue to drive its powerful stories around the world.
Historically, the trademark of Star Mediaoriginates and was first used in Ukraine. Yes, it exists in Russia too; yet the companies are absolutely independent from each other. We are not parts of the same structure;our owners are absolutely different. We have nothing to do with what they did and are doing, just as they have nothing to do with what we do. Since the beginning of the war, we have finally abandoned the Star Media brand.
The business that had grown into Ukrainian Producers Hub (UP Hub) is owned by a team of Ukrainian producers and filmmaking professionals who develop it.
Everything our team has previously produced in Ukraine under the Star Media brand are Ukrainian productions that is our pride and asset. We have a large library already and being sold to 90 countries around the world, including to Amazon and Netflix.
We have a Ukrainian pay TV channel branch. It comprises two channels we own and two ones we co-own with our partner’s. Currently, we are developing this arm not only in Ukraine, but in the EU and North America too. We also plan to launch it in Asia as well.
‘The majority of our team refused to evacuate and remained in Kyiv, continuing their work amid howling anti-aircraft alarms and explosions. At first, a large part of our time was spent on volunteering activities and helping our defenders. Volunteering helped us a lot in moralsense and made us «get involved.» Meanwhile, in March already,we gathered ourfirst creative board and started collecting ideas. And it worked! Our team has generated a number of local projects: some of them are currently in production, and some have already been completed’.
We had defined for ourselves our mission in the production of projects for the Ukrainian market long ago: The Ukrainian viewersare used to consuming fresh and high-quality content, and they deserve to have it. We are rebuilding our production technology in away fitting into our reduced market.
Also, we continue developingour international cooperation that has long become a strategic direction for us. Currently, we are developing about ten stories for co-production with international partners, and there is confirmed interest in two projects. Given the trend that the world market still needs local storiesand the fact that Ukraine has been on the global news for a long time, we are developing both projects about Ukraine in today’s realities, but in a way that would be of interest to people not involved in Ukrainian events.
We are co-producing one of the stories together with our Polish partners. The project is at the stage of approval of the agreement. This is a feature series about volunteers: Poles and Ukrainians, a life-affirming story about love, patriotism, empathy. Plot twists are proposed by life itself, and we take them with much gratitude.
The second story is co-produced with our German partners. This is a documentary about Ukrainian zoos during the war. Incredible stories of the evacuation of zoos from the hostilities areas and ensuring their work and existence during active military operations.
In addition, we also shoot two feature films based on two plays. Despite being produced in a TV format, theseare auteur films by our Ukrainian directorsthat may be of interest for film festivals.
In partnership with Light Communication, we are making adocumentary about children in war. «Stolen Childhood» is something that must never occur. It’s the most important topic, difficult but necessary to talk about.
Another project we work on is a documentary «The Free» narrating stories about our people in the rear. These are doctors, volunteers, power industry workers, utility service workers, farmers, shop assistants, selfless businessmen etc.who continue working under bombardments.
A 10-episode documentary «Iron People» about incredible patriots, heroes of the evacuation is at the stage of launch.
Another multi-episode documentary project we are working on is «Coffee in Your City» – an atmospheric series about coffee shops that continued working despite shelling or occupation. People gathered there, finding support and a heartily company. Each episode of the project will be a separate story of a cityseen through the eyes of dedicated baristas and local residents, told with the aroma of coffee.
These are inexpensive projects;yet this type of content is fresh and relevant. Our audiences need it now. That’s why we find possibilities to create it, not least due to cooperation with our Ukrainian colleagues.
We started restructuring our business a long time ago, one and a half years before the start of the war,and have expanded in terms of business areas over this time: from an in-house production company, we have grown into a multi-vector and differentiated structure of UP Hubthat not only creates its own product and develops channels for distribution of its own and its partner’s content, but also actively works in various typesof partnerships.
We have concluded a cooperation with a British partner and started a joint company that will deal with international dimension of our business and large projects. This is a new business in which we invest our extensive international experience, with projects already being in development and pitched on the international market.
Together with our another partner, Apple Tree Vision, and Forecast Pictures, and supportedby the Ukrainian State Film Agency we are currently completing our co-production project titled “SHTTL”that has high chances of becoming a good story for film festivalsthat will present our country worthily in the world market.
One way or another, our main task is to step by step – including due to finding international money and partnerships – maintain everything that has already been done and achieved and create something new. By the way, our experience shows that foreign producers are ready and willing to cooperate with Ukraine;yet this does not mean at all that they are ready to give all money of the world to our industry for the sake of just supporting it. An important change is their realization that the Ukrainian film industry is to be taken seriously as skillful and powerful actor. And it is important not to waste this understanding but to support it with successful projects.
If talking about the domestic (Ukrainian) market, we are actively developing our cooperation with Kristi Films. This company is engaged in the production of experimental theatrical films and has now also focused on finding partners in the West to invest in co-production projects for Ukraine.
In order for the projects to come true, we had to optimize our resources in many ways. Of course, we have to limit ourselves in production budgets as well, but Ukrainians always know how to do highest-quality things even if they have to tighten their belts.
And – an important point! – we stake on projects with commercial appeal. In other words, we do not recruit our staff on a volunteering basis. The responsibility of business nowadays lies,among other tings, in giving people paid employment.
This autumn (2022), our viewers will see the first part of our television projects.
