“Strong Ivan” is to be shown in Ukrainian cinemas this spring

It is planned that the movie about the Transcarpathian athlete will be released in Ukraine during the spring school holidays.

"Ivan Strong" is one of five films focused on children’s audience, which, following the competition of the film projects of the State Cinema Agency of Ukraine, received 100% public funding.

The budget of the film was about 16 million hryvnias. In Soviet times, this would never have happened, because Firtsak-Strong had nationalist views, and his son belonged to the OUN.

The shooting of the movie about the Transcarpathian strongman Firtsak Croton lasted three and a half months on the filming sets in different places.The crew of the Kyiv studio named after Dovzhenko worked in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Kamyanetz-Podilsky, as well as in Transcarpathia, the homeland of the protagonist Ivan Firtsak.

The leading role was played by the powerlifting champion of Ukraine, American circus performer Dmytro Khalaji.

"We made a good story about a good guy – said the director and actor Igor Pysmenny. – We showed real-life situations, which could happen to any of us, and sought the way out – not just the right one but also a decent" – reported Tourinform.