"Mavka. Forest Song"
The premiere of the cartoon took place on March 2, 2023, the cartoon was based on the play by the Ukrainian writer Леся Українка (Lesya Ukrainka) , this woman can be safely called the best writer of Ukraine in all the years, it’s not for nothing that she herself is the only woman depicted on the currency of Ukrainians - гривні.
The main characters are Mavka - a magical creature from Ukrainian mythology, who was the keeper of the forest and a young guy, a musician named Lukash, who captivated the heart of a forest beauty by playing the flute. This tape is a real work of art, each character is thought out to the smallest detail.
Let me take the main character as an example.
Magic runes are a significant visual part of our animated feature film. Forest and its inhabitants are adorned with these ornaments and some mysterious symbols appear on Mavka, too. Authentic elements on her body begin to shine when she hears the melody of Lukash's flute.
A big part of Mavka’s tattoos are ancient symbols with sacred meanings. Rune represents Slavic culture for a centuries and implements in our film today. The pattern on both cheeks of the main character is a sign of Mother Nature, who controls the fertility and destinies of all living beings.
The fern on the neck means spiritual wealth, fern leaves depicted on legs are about unbreacable life force. The ancient Slavic rune on the forehead symbolizes the unity of the four elements — Earth, Water, Fire and Air. The dot in the center is the fifth element — the birth of new life.
The same can be said about other heroes. My favorite жабокіт Квусь and River Mermaid (real beauty)
The love 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓
of creatures from different worlds, the magic of the elements, the gods, the underworld, human deceit and greed, it was simply impossible to hold back the tears. Every string of my soul was touched.
We returned home with a new friend.
During the production of the project, experts from the National Folklore Center Ivan Honchar Museum (Myroslava Vertiuk, Petro Honchar) and Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University folklore department (Olena Ivanovska, Olesia Naumovska) provide their expert advice to help interpret ancient slavic runes and authentic elements in the Mavka Universe.
Mavka.ua
Mavka.ua Facebook page