MAGIC MOUNTAIN tells the story of twelve-year-old Kir, who is travelling to a sanatorium in West Ukraine alongside his mother Olga. Surrounded by Carpathian mountains and with new unexpected acquaintances in their lives, each deals with a family trauma and tries to overcome an unresolved grief—the boy’s father, a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier, went missing in the frontline.
2024 | Screenplay Development and Online Sessions with EAVE Experts
Project Timeline
July-November 2024: first draft of the script, director’s statement, logline, synopsis, treatment
January 2025: online sessions with EAVE experts, work with the first draft of the documents
February – December 2025: work with the script and script materials, getting script consultancy and editing services, searching for coproducers, applying for development grants
January 2026 – March 2027: collecting production financing, talent and actors casting, location scouting, building coproduction structure
April – July 2027: preproduction and principal photography
August – December 2027: editing, image and sound postproduction
February 2028: release. Berlinale Generation
Marketing and Distribution Strategy
MAGIC MOUNTAIN is the debut feature film by Mykola Zasieiev. In Ukraine he is known for his short film PHASE, which premiered at Molodist in 2021. In both films Mykola deals with the theme of loss.
In this project, the father of the main character, a 12-year-old boy named Kir, is missing on the front line of the full-scale war in Ukraine. Kir and his mother Olha have to deal with the limbo situation of whether his father/husband is alive in captivity or dead. But like a childhood summer, the project is full of light, sun, hope and love, and could be considered a “healing” film.
As a benchmark for the marketing and distribution of this project, I would like to take a feature film TOTEM dir. Lila Aviles. It premiered at the Berlinale in 2023. Its international sales agent, French distributor and co-producer was Alpha Violet. Other benchmarks are SEA SPARKLE dir. Domien Huyghe (Berlinale 2023), CLOSE dir. Lucas Dhont (Cannes 2022).
Moreover, taking into account the current situation of the markets, I believe that one of the tools for the promotion of the film should be the expansion into publicity in Europe and the U.S. And the budgeting and the search for financing for publicity and distribution should be well prepared and started already at the production financing stage of the project. Therefore, a targeted B2B in the media should build audience interest and create expectations before and during the world premiere and especially during the subsequent festival distribution.
The pillars of the marketing narrative could be the young protagonists, the female characters, the location and its atmosphere, the main theme of loss and how to deal with a limbo situation when you are about to lose, the aspiring director. As a target audience I would suggest an audience 25+ (female).
Mykola Zasieiev graduated Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts (Filmmaking) in 2017. While still a student, he started working with provident Ukrainian TV and film production studios as a script writer, 1st AD, and acting coach. He also has also made several short films premiered at the international film festivals. PHASE, his short narrative debut, premiered at Molodist IFF 2021, and since, has been at numerous film festivals.
Filmography:
PHASE (20’) narrative, Molodist IFF 2021, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022 in Tokyo. Best Narrative Short Award at French Riviera Film Festival 2022 and Best Short Fiction Film Nomination UFA’s Golden Dzyga 2022. Best Narrative Film, Best Cinematography and Best Actor at Vidkryta Nich FF 2021.
MEDEA (15’) narrative, Special Jury Mention at the Cherkasy FF “Kinoshot” 2017
MEMORIES OF A DEAD MAN (30’) narrative, premiered at Odesa IFF and the Up-&-Coming FF in Hanover 2016.