Russia steals “Mavka. The Forest Song” animated feature film

One of the Russian movie theatres started illegally broadcasting Mavka. The Forest Song animated feature film, the film’s producers reported. The Ukrainian work became part of the shadow rental scheme in Russia when world premieres are offered to the audience to watch “for free” before the showing of Russian short films. This is what the occupiers call “pre-session service.”

“Announcements of screenings of our film are fake because the terrorist country does not have access to our animated feature film, and even more so – the rights to its distribution. But there are no rules and laws for an uncivilized country. It steals both from Hollywood and from us,” Mavka. The Forest Song producers said.

After February 24, 2022, five major Hollywood studios – Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Paramount, and Universal – left the Russian market. Box office collections fell significantly, and half of the cinemas closed. Other movie theaters suffered billions in losses. Journalists say that Russian networks have started to show films illegally, but this does not save the situation too much.

Mavka. The Forest Song producers called on viewers to be attentive and conscious and consume only licensed content to avoid becoming like the Russians.

The animated feature film was released in more than 80 countries. In particular, in May, the cartoon was broadcast on the big screens of the USA and Canada. Mavka. The Forest Song entered the top ten highest-grossing Ukrainian films in history – it collected a record UAH 24.9 million (approximately USD 922 thousand) during the first weekend of distribution in Ukraine alone.