Ukrainian film production company ForeFilms, which produced the highest-grossing feature film of 2025, "You Are Space", has begun work on a €2.5 million adaptation of Vsevolod Nestaikoʼs cult trilogy "Toreadors from Vasyukivka".
Forbes Ukraine writes about this.
This will be the first full-length film adaptation of "Toreadors from Vasyukivka" since Ukraineʼs independence. Negotiations over the rights lasted about six months — the key issue was the authenticity of the story. The copyright holder of the work is the writerʼs daughter Olena Maksymenko.
The film will be set in the Soviet era and will be directed by Roman Krasnoshchok and Anton Chistyakov, who will be making their feature film debut. They have been developing the project in collaboration with Maksymenko for several years.
The producers did not disclose the cost of the film rights. According to ForeFilms co-founder Anna Yatsenko, the high budget is explained by the complex production scenes. In particular, the film plans to recreate a flood in the village. For comparison, the production of "You are the Cosmos" cost about €800 000.
In an optimistic scenario, filming could begin in a year and a half. The producers emphasize that the upcoming film should be a high-quality Ukrainian childrenʼs film, which is currently lacking.
"Toreadors from Vasyukivka" is one of the most famous works of Ukrainian childrenʼs literature, included in the Hans Christian Andersen Honorary List and the mandatory school curriculum. The book was first adapted into a film in 1965 as a short comedy.
- ForeFilms was founded in 2020 by Anna and Volodymyr Yatsenky. The company worked on the films “Luxembourg, Luxembourg”, “Me and Felix”, “Reflection” and “You are Space”.
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