Team
Ruslan Savchuk
The Board chairman
He has been working in the Ukrainian film industry since 2005. With a law degree in business law and more than twenty years of experience in commercial structures, he chose film production as his vocation. Throughout his years in the film industry, he has been advising colleagues on financial and copyright issues. He is an active social activist. He was among the first producers to start working with foreign clients. He believes that the result is the growth of foreign financing and the rise of the prestige of Ukrainian film producers. He is the owner of the creative agency Druh Creative. He has produced more than a hundred major advertising, social, music and concert films. He was an expert at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and House of Europe.
Denys Maslikov
Executive director
He has been in the film industry since 2010. He graduated from Dnipro National University with a degree in international information. He worked his way up from a journalist to an editor-in-chief in the Ukrainian media. He has experience in managing non-governmental film organizations - he worked as the CEO of the Association of Ukrainian Producers (APU) in 2011-2016. Under his leadership, the APU became a member of well-known international organizations such as AGICOA and FIAPF. He is one of the organizers of the Ukrainian Oscar Committee, was its coordinator and press secretary in 2011-2014. Now he specializes in social impact documentary projects and research projects on the Ukrainian film industry. He is the author and leader of the Tribunal Manifesto project.
Eduard Ievtushenko
UFI Productions managing director
He graduated from the Drahomanov Kyiv State Pedagogical University with a degree in Psychology and Pedagogy. He has been working in TV and film production since 1999. His experience in setting up and owning a production company, an acting agency and a rental company has allowed him to thoroughly understand all the intricacies of production organization, as well as legal and financial aspects. He has many years of experience working on numerous projects, from the idea to its full realization. He always considers the search for new ideas, projects and the discovery of new names to be his priority in his professional activity. He is the head of the Ukrainian Film Institute's film production company UFI Productions. He was an expert of the Ukrainian State Film Agency and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
Serhii Ponomarenko
Producer, actor
Graduated from the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv State Theater Institute, Faculty of Cinema Acting, specializing in drama theater and film. From 1978 to 2005, he was a staff actor at TSKA (Theater-Studio of the Film Actor) at the Dovzhenko Film Studio. More than 140 movie roles. He has been acting for over 50 years. Since 2004, he began to master the profession of administrator and producer in film production. From 2007 to 2011, he was the head of Ukrtelefilm State Specialized Enterprise as Deputy Director General for Creative Affairs, Director of the Artistic and Production Association, and then Acting Director General. Deeply and comprehensively integrated into the feature film production process. Experience in working with both private and state organizations.
Maryna Sofiichuk
Producer, film director, actress
She studied acting at theater studios and acted in TV series, movies, and commercials. She has a law degree and graduated from the Karpenko-Kary University of Theater, Film and Television with a degree in directing. Additionally, she studied at the documentary film workshop with Serhiy Bukovsky. She has worked on television as a second director and director on TV programs, shows, series, digital content and advertising. Since 2022, she has been working for a Spanish film company, responsible for international activities and fundraising. He is looking for opportunities and cooperation to promote Ukrainian projects. Participates in the development and implementation of projects of UFI Productions (the film production company of the Film Institute). She was an expert at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
Brian Ziegler
NGO consultant
He is a non-governmental organization (NGO) management consultant who has worked with prominent American NGOs for 35 years. He holds an MBA in NGO management. Brian's clients in the United States include such personalities as Ted Turner (founder of CNN), Michael Bloomberg (former mayor of New York City, owner of the Bloomberg News Agency), as well as organizations and companies such as: Ford, Emory University, American Cancer Society, WHO and others. Brian has also worked for the Committee for Open Democracy, and has cooperated with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine (UNHCR), the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), and the Jewish Federation.
Eric Gilliatt
Producer, actor
American dramatic actor, director, producer and award-winning screenwriter. He moved to Kyiv in 2007. Before moving, he worked on the dramatic and musical stage as an actor, director and producer, and in television, as well as commercial VO talent for radio in Southern California (USA) for almost 30 years. He is currently working in filmmaking in both the US and Europe.