Who will make TV series for public money: partners of Russians and people close to the Presidential Office
This year, several companies that won the competition for film projects for state funding in Ukraine have come under suspicion of having ties to government officials, including the Office of the President of Ukraine, and Russian partners. This competition became the subject of a loud scandal after the public expressed outrage over some of the projects to which the budget funds were planned to be allocated.
It is important to note that we are talking about a substantial budget of over 400 million hryvnias allocated by the Ministry of Culture for the implementation of film projects and TV series. However, this competition was not without scandal. In the summer, the public expressed serious indignation when they learned that funds were being allocated to specific projects. The reaction to “SMT. Ingulets, hosted by TV presenter Yuriy Horbunov, because the main character of this project was extremely similar to the famous agrarian Oleksandr Povorozniuk. This situation sparked heated discussions on social media, where Ukrainian citizens actively criticized the government’s decision to spend large sums of money on film projects while the country is experiencing military operations in the East. The situation became so serious that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally intervened, demanding that officials find other sources of funding for such projects and publicly asked Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko to resign. Despite the fact that Tkachenko resigned and it seemed that the high-profile scandal had subsided, the question of the objectivity of the project selection remains relevant. Bihus.Info journalists found out some details of the competition and its participants.
After a short break, apparently to let the scandal die down a bit, the state-owned Multimedia Platform of Foreign Broadcasting of Ukraine, the manager of the funds, continued to sign contracts with the winners.
According to the information, the participants had less than three weeks to submit their applications. The procedure was as closed as possible, and details about the committee that selected the winners were not made public. All this is to ensure that no one “outsider” can “break through” to public funds.
Thus, among the winners is the Filmstrim company, which received over UAH 30 million to implement three projects. In the past, she has worked with Russian actors and TV channels owned by oligarchs such as Rinat Akhmetov. Filmstrom’s owner, Vitaliy Sirenko, has experience in Russia and was the founder of the Russian company SV Cinema.
Another company, Energy Film Production, received almost UAH 40 million to produce three film projects. It was founded by Vitaliy Sirenko but is now owned by producer Natalia Bohomolova, who has worked with Sirenko in the past.
Osnova Film Production received funds for the film Four Windows. Her film Yurik was criticized for not being based on real events. One of the producers, Tatiana Kuts, later apologized for her pro-Russian statements. She also ran as a candidate for a pro-Russian party, but was unsuccessful.
This information raises questions about the objectivity of the competitive selection process and possible ties between the participants and government officials.
In addition to the previous details about the film project competition, there is information about additional companies that have received state funding and which, according to journalists, have ties to government officials, including the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“Artforms Production Ukraine, headed by Tetyana Hnedash, the ex-wife of former Minister Tkachenko, will receive almost UAH 16 million to produce the series OPG.
The Kinokit company, associated with the former deputy head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, also received funds for the filming of Theater of Combat. Interestingly, during Tymoshenko’s tenure in the Presidential Administration, Kinokit actively received orders from the Rada TV channel, where Tymoshenko often appeared.
“Mainstream Pictures with Artem Kolyubayev, a business partner of the Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, will receive over UAH 20 million to produce three war dramas. Interestingly, Kolyubayev has recently become involved in numerous businesses, including the construction and production of drones. His business partner in this project, filmmaker Oleksiy Kiryushchenko, was also part of the commission that determined the winners of the competition, including Kolyubayev’s projects.
All of this information makes it clear that the selection of projects for state funding may have certain connections and interests with government officials, which calls into question the objectivity and transparency of this process.
