CAROL OF THE BELLS

Immortalised as one of the most scintillating and uplifting Christmas songs, 'Carol of the Bells' adapted from a popular and loved Ukrainian folk melody, came to represent the spirit of brotherhood and unity all over the world. The peaceful and neighbourly existence of three families, Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish, sharing a large house, musical evenings and merriment in the city of Stanislaviv is shattered. First in the Soviet occupation and the persecution of the Polish family, then, by the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, and the decimation of the Jewish family. Sacrificing their lives the Ukrainian family manage to save their neighbours' children and their own daughter. Death and loss come to these families, but the healing power and joy, and a promise that the Future Will Not be Cancelled which "Carol of the Bells' evokes will be everlasting.

  • Olesya Morgunets-Isaenko
    Director
    VIOLONCELLO (2014), THE TALE OF MONEY (2018), THE BORDERLINE. HRUBIESZOW OPERATION (2019), DEPORTATION 44-46 (2021)
  • Ksenia Zastavska
    Writer
  • Artem Koliubaiev
    Producer
    The Fight Rules (2017), Kruty 1918 (2018), The Winter Garden’s Tale (2019), Salt from Bonneville (2020), The Art of Rebirth (2020), I Work at the Cemetery (2021), Carol of the Bells (2021)
  • Taras Bosak
    Producer
    The Fight Rules (2017), Kruty 1918 (2018), The Winter Garden’s Tale (2019), Salt from Bonneville (2020), The Art of Rebirth (2020), I Work at the Cemetery (2021), Carol of the Bells (2021)
  • Maksim Leshchanka
    Producer
    Kruty 1918 (2018), The Winter Garden’s Tale (2019), Salt from Bonneville (2020), The Art of Rebirth (2020), I Work at the Cemetery (2021), Carol of the Bells (2021)
  • Yana Koroliova
    Key Cast
    "SOFIA"
  • Andrey Mostrenko
    Key Cast
    "MYKHAILO"
  • Polina Gromova
    Key Cast
    "YAROSLAVA"
  • Joanna Opozda
    Key Cast
    "WANDA"
  • Khrystyna Ushytska
    Key Cast
    "TERESA"
  • Eugenia Solodovnyk
    Key Cast
    "DINAH"
  • Andrii Isaienko
    Key Cast
    "NKVD Officer"
  • Alla Binieieva
    Key Cast
    "BERTA"
  • Tomasz Sobczak
    Key Cast
    "ISAAC"
  • Miroslaw Haniszewski
    Key Cast
    "WACLAW"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    ЩЕДРИК
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, History, War
  • Runtime:
    2 hours 1 minute 27 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 12, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,000,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Ukraine
  • Country of Filming:
    Poland, Ukraine
  • Language:
    German, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digiatl
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • One Eyed Films
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Olesya Morgunets-Isaenko

Born in 1984, Ukraine.
Graduate of the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University.
Olesya’s graduation film project MOLFAR (2008) won the jury award at the film festival New Cinema. XXI Century held in Moscow.
2014 VIOLONCELLO, narrative short film
Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz-Art (Ukraine)
Two Riversides Film and Art Festival (Poland)
Jecheon Intl Music & Film Festival (South Korea)
Golden Apricot International Film Festival (Armenia)
Batumi International Art-House Film Festival (Georgia)
Samawa International Film Festival (Iraq)
2014 Won Ukrainian President’s grant for developing screenplay for documentary project Music of Monocle dedicated to life and creative legacy of cinematographer Danylo Demutskyi
RECENT FILMS
2018 THE TALE OF MONEY, fairy tale, fantasy, 100 min.
India Cine Film Festival (India)
Tripoli Film Festival (Lebanon)
Kaniv International Film Festival (Ukraine)
Zaporizhzhia International Film Festival – ZIFF (Ukraine)
2019 THE BORDERLINE. HRUBIESZOW OPERATION, documentary, 52 min.
Dream City - Rivne International Film Festival (Ukraine)
2021 DEPORTATION 44-46, documentary, 75 min.
2021 CAROL OF THE BELLS, drama, 122 min.
2022 CRY, MY RIVER, feature documentary (production)

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Director Statement

In my opinion, our film Carol of the Bells (Schchedryk) deals with a topical theme of the relationship between Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews. These are the nations that suffered the most from both the Nazis and the Soviets during World War II. This story is rather complicated but appealing since it is told from the perspective of the children who do not care about nationalities or cultural differences but appreciate friendship and loyalty.
We paid special attention to the actors’ language and their immersion in the material so they could realize the events of that period and understand the circumstances that prototypes of their characters had faced. Ukrainian actors play Ukrainians, and Polish actors perform for Polish characters.
We took Oscar-winning La vita è bella by Roberto Benigni and Elem Klimov’s Come and See as references to develop our filming approach.
Music plays an important part in the film since Carol of the Bells (Schchedryk) is one of the characters that lives through these war years together with the main heroes and remains the symbol of Christmas magic.