Is there really a film in Ukrainian that is being shown in a German children’s cinema? Six-year-old Zahar asked his mother this question. He was completely surprised when he found out that the Ukrainian animation film “Mavka – Guardian of the Forest” was showing in Germany. Zahar’s mom is my friend from Ukraine who, like me, fled the Russian war of aggression with her children. She lives in Bavaria, in a town a little further away from Munich, where she teaches German as a foreign language at a vocational school. In contrast to Munich, the children there have hardly any opportunities to practice Ukrainian or to meet other Ukrainian children. There are no Ukrainian reading hours and no other events at the city library. Well, Zahar really wanted to see “Mavka” and so his mother invited my daughter Ewa and I to go with him.
Mavka is probably the most famous modern Ukrainian film. It premiered in March 2023 and immediately became a hit in Ukraine. The film is also successful in the Netherlands and Italy. For a few weeks now it has been available in some cinemas, especially in Munich, in Ukrainian with German subtitles.
Mavka is an animated film, or as some say, a children’s film, based on the well-known play by Lesia Ukrainka. Lesia Ukrainka is a famous poet from my homeland, her play “Das Waldlied” about Mavka from the film was my favorite work when I was at school.
The focus of the story is the forest as a living being. The surrounding plot revolves around the relationship between Mavka, a good-hearted girl who is also a forest spirit, and the young musician Lukash. Mavka guards the secret of eternal life, Lukash was sent into the forest by the evil villain Kylyna to find this secret. She promised him that he could use it to save his uncle’s life. Lukash and Mavka fall in love. In reality, Kylyna wants to destroy the forest in order to have eternal life and youth.
The film is less dark than the original story and, above all, it has a happy ending. Mavka may die, but she also comes back to life thanks to the love of Lukash. Good wins over evil. That should certainly be the case because it’s a family film.
Me, my daughter and of course little Zahar really liked the film. It is full of our Ukrainian culture and music as well as rich in Ukrainian mythology. You can tell it’s a Ukrainian film, and I’m very proud that despite the war in my home country, a film of such a high quality could be made.
Nevertheless, on the way home, a bitter feeling set in because of the parallels between the fiction and reality. In my real life though, the good isn’t winning just yet, there are too many casualties in the war against Ukraine, too much blood is being spilled despite all the support from real friends. My country is fighting for its freedom and democracy and is still alive thanks to the people risking their lives and the help of friends. But in the end Ukraine will live forever because she has something in her heart that can never die – just like Lesia Ukrainka said many years ago.
Emiliia Dieniezhna, 34, fled from Kiev to Pullach near Munich with her then four-year-old daughter Ewa. She works voluntarily for the non-governmental organization NAKO, which aims to fight corruption in Ukraine. She also teaches German to Ukrainian refugee children. Once a week she writes a column for the SZ about her view from Munich on the events in her home country.