UNHOLY POWER

SYNOPSIS

It is said that the young chumak* Yarema is an orphan and that his older sister has been accused of practising witchcraft. To please the servant girl of a wealthy estate, he agrees to rescue the son of a railroad magnate, as the son is possessed by a mysterious entity.

*Chumaks – salt deliveries from one region to another, living in the constant dangerous travel. In 20th century chumaks gave way to the railroad.

AMOUNT OF THE SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT: 42 200 €

European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films – Date of the decision : May 15th 2023

Roman Liubyi obtained a master’s degree at the Kyiv I.K. Karpenko-Kary University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in 2014 and started to get involved with Babylon’13 in 2013. During the Maidan Revolution, he used art as a tool for activism, by gathering young filmmakers together with well-known and skillful professionals. Liubyi directed his first full-length film, War Note, using Ukrainian soldiers’ personal recordings made with their phones and go pros since 2014. He also made two short documentaries using only materials from criminal cases of the biggest war crimes of the Russian-Ukrainian war, an experience that led him to make a film about the downing of MH17 passenger plane – Iron Butterflies (2023). This documentary had a world premiere at Sundance 2023.