The founder of «Nora-Druk» publishing house, a member of the organizing committee of the literary contest, «Coronation of Word», Mykola Kravchenko, speaks in details about Ukrainian prose and its screening:

- The popular idea is that most of today’s young generation does not read books giving preference to films.

Mykola Kravchenko: I believe young Ukrainians do not read not because they watch films. Strange to say, but it’s all about the trend. Reading is simply not stylish. The trend for films has also appeared only after cinemas renovation and after expensive advertising campaigns. Therefore, we need to create a fashion for a book, and once the process of consumer demand formation starts namely for the book product, the youth will start to read.

- Do you think prose screening can stimulate the viewer to read prose itself?

MK: I think, a high quality prose screening can provoke interest to other works by the author, contribute to his popularization, and eventually, attract interest to literature in general.

- What is more in demand today – a book or its screening?

MK: Somehow a child’s question came to my mind: «Whom do you love more, father or mother?» As for me, these are absolutely different things, they can only complement each other as the consumer of these products in its majority is diverse.

- What genres are most called-for today? Do the tastes of readers coincide with the tastes of cinema and TV viewers?

MK: In principle, the tastes concur to a large extend. Judging by the programs on the main TV channels, the viewer needs only «weepy» melodramas, low-grade detectives (to be more precise, police dramas), and even more low-standard actions. In the film distribution, the genres range is a bit wider, but I believe, it is virtually impossible to consider what films exactly the viewer watches, as there are unrecorded delivery channels such as Internet and the black market of counterfeit products.

It is somewhat easier to examine book buyers. It can definitely be stated that there is a constant need for melodramas (as the majority of readers are women), and the latest season’s trend was historical sagas and family dramas. In September, a new season starts, and then we will be able to estimate if the genre orientation of book literary market has changed.

- What is similar (different) in the audiences of prose and cinema?

MK: Obviously, the process of reading a book and watching a movie – these are absolutely different ways of message delivery, different methods of affecting mind and emotional state. I have never evaluated the audiences of «readers» and «viewers», but I can assume that the percent of their intersection is not significant.

- Is it hard today to find a sponsor or an informational partner for promoting a book?

MK: Concerning attracting sponsors for books, the answer is negative. One can just look over the books in the first book store to get confirmation for such status of the whole market.

The work upon searching for informational partners for publishers usually is a success, but the number of media that provide at least some information on culture, namely literature, is decreasing virtually day by day.

- Which factors, in your opinion, influence prose to be screened?

MK: It is difficult for me to say as I have never filmed! But, based on my personal experience, I know that for director and producer it is enough to read a small episode of the literary work, and a whole serial is displayed in their mind.

- How often do Ukrainian film companies screen modern Ukrainian prose?

MK: Lately, I hear the writers constantly say that Ukraine desperately lacks publishers, but there are even less film companies! As far as I know, almost all of them have made attempts or actually have screened modern Ukrainian prose.

- Which film companies have you already cooperated with?

MK: There were negotiations with a few, but contracts were signed and films shot mainly with «FRESH PRODUCTION».

- How did your cooperation with «FRESH PRODUCTION» film company start?

MK: It all began with the contract for screening Iren Rozdobudko’s novel, «Fade Flowers Are Thrown Away».

- In conclusion, what are the perspectives of collaboration with «FRESH PRODUCTION» film company, in your view?

MK: Unfortunately, the film market, as well as the book market, currently is in stagnation. This can not last forever, and I hope that the time of positive dynamics is not far off.

The «FRESH PRODUCTION» film company has an energetic ambitious team, and I would like to wish it implement many new film projects, and receive a lot prestigious awards for them, and we, in our turn, will try to offer them new literary works for screening.

Interview by Daryna Goriunova, PR manager of Fresh Production Group

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