CEE Screenings 2018 presents today the adventure drama Souvenir from Odesa – the most-ambitious and most expensive series production of 1+1 in the past four years. The period drama was among the most expected premieres of the year in Ukraine as it is also based on a popular novel by Valerii Smirnov. The production stands out with an excellent cast, dramatization, costume designs, directing and dialogues recreating the atmosphere of the times and the characters of well-known historical personalities from the Odesa crime scene.

Go to http://pitchplay.tv/ceescreenings/1 to screen the show

The 12-episode series is based on the novel Coffin from Odesa by the local writer Valerii Smirnov. The plot is focused on a golden pendant with magical properties and the love story of two young people from the city. Legend has it that the souvenir protects its owner and destroys the one who tries to take it away against the owner’s will. The love story between Matvii Hrach and Lisa Volska began during World War I. After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, over a three-year period, Odesa is experiencing the change of seven governments but the power of local criminality remains unchanged. Matvii and Lisa meet again after fifty years and are trying not to become pawns in the games of the legendary historical personalities, such as Ataman Kotovskyi and Mykhailo Vynnytskyi (Mishka Yaponchyk), the King of Raiders.

The series was directed by Oleg Turansky and produced by Oleksandr Tkachenko, Olena Vasilieva, Victoria Zabulonska and Marina Gorodetska.

“This is a small bright part of the great history of Odesa city at the beginning of the turbulent twentieth century. The main characters of the series, Lisa and Matvii, face a tough choice: devotion and betrayal, struggle and collaboration, crime and political populism but was able to keep their love all life. There is no good or evil in the series. People suffer from their decisions; their lives look like a challenge. The shooting took place in Odesa and Kyiv. Famous historical places and attractions appear on camera. The team selected shooting locations with thoroughness and attention to details. Valuable authentic props of the XIX century are used in the series,”- says Оleksandr Tkachenko, CEO of 1+1 Media and Executive Producer of Souvenir from Odesa.