Lyubov Mochalova: “The First Code” is an opportunity to tell the whole world about Ukrainian IT”

In Ukraine, despite the war, the filming of the documentary film about IT technologies “The First Code” continues. The tape tells the story of the development of IT in Ukraine from its inception to the present day. How did you come up with the idea to make a film, whose stories can be seen in the film and when can you expect the premiere? Lyubov Mochalova, the creative producer of the film, told about all this specially for Woman.

How and who initiated the launch of this project, what is the background of the very idea of the launch? 

It was so spontaneous. Last year in September, we were standing with the team in the office, drinking coffee in the kitchen. They were discussing some kind of film, and then it just dawned on me that “we need to make a documentary about Ukrainian IT.” Collect the entire history of the industry in one place, and show it in a tasty and understandable way for everyone. I immediately ran to write to Vlad (Vladislav Savchenko, president of the European Software Engineering Association, editor’s note)  SMS with an idea. He was then on a business trip to the States. To which he replied “Cool idea. Let’s do it.” I think at that time none of us realized the full scale of the story in which we got involved. 

I remember how we came up with the name while sitting in our office in the open space on Podil, and then Dasha Turukalo (our marketer) suggested First Code. And everyone immediately felt – this is it. 

How were the first companies involved in the interview? Did you receive support from the representatives of the IT industry? How was the filming arranged, and what did the process look like at the beginning, before the involvement of a professional team?

We started with the EASE team. That is, I, Serhiy Kryvko (our YouTube producer at the time) and Vlad Savchenko, who actually conducted all the interviews with the heroes, were responsible for everything. They looked for a production in every city they went to. Filming began just at the end of last year, so they managed to record about 70% of the desired interviews before the war. 

It was not difficult to choose heroes, because these names and companies are familiar in our field. However, there were those desired heroes who managed to be lured only now, when the project had already acquired a level and status. This is Preply, for example, they didn’t even respond to us before.

I remember how my breath was taken away from me and the team at every interview, because these are people – deep, real personalities. Everyone is extremely charismatic. But my favorite hero became Oleksiy Skrypnyk, whom we wrote in their company at the ELEKS office in Lviv. He simply filled the whole space with himself, I wanted to absorb some of his wisdom. And when we found out later that he was gone, we couldn’t believe it for a long time. 

Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa – we simply traveled all over Ukraine, lacked sleep, froze in minibuses and trains. But there was such adrenaline and the feeling that we were doing something important for the country. And also – almost every hero we wrote (and these are the founders of the most famous Ukrainian IT companies ) said: “we also had an idea for such a film. And you took it and do it.” 

The filming process of the documentary film about IT technologies “The First Code”

Filming budget: How much did you put into the film from the beginning and how did you change it along the way?

At the beginning, I thought that we would start the process on our own (that is, with full financing by Vlad Savchenko, he agreed to it) and then we would involve partners from the IT market. After all, “The First Code”  – this is an opportunity to tell the whole world about Ukrainian IT, to increase the recognition of our technological brand in the world. 

When the war started, we stopped work on the project, because it was dangerous to shoot, and the future was uncertain. But in the summer of 2022, we all saw that it will not end soon, and therefore the project must be continued under any circumstances. But when we went with the offer to join the potential partners – they all reacted very sluggishly. I was very upset then, and Vlad got angry – and said that now we will make a world-class movie and he will finance it. And as soon as I saw the green light – we began to approve a professional film team. 

The filming process of the documentary film about IT technologies “The First Code”

Why did you turn to a professional film crew? On the basis of what was chosen with whom to continue cooperation?

Ambitions grew along with the project. And as it often happens in great stories – you take a step, and then another. And as a result, a whole masterpiece emerges. 

I chose people intuitively. It was important to me that their eyes lit up. We started working with those who came prepared – already knew the history of the EASE Association and “First Code”. It was important to me that the screenwriter, director, and director of photography were passionate about the idea of the film, and they wanted to give it their all. And we formed such a team, selecting the best personnel of the Ukrainian film industry. 

Now the staff of “First Code” are Gods in my profession, I constantly learn from them and trust them.  For example, I like how Tanya Burenko laid out the dramaturgy scenario, because she understands that we will hold the audience’s attention with emotions, and not with dry facts about IT. Arthur Lerman invented such directorial productions and scenery that Guy Ricci is hiding.  And Yevhen Usanov – embodies his skills of shooting world advertising in Hollywood. 

How do you work in blackout conditions? How difficult is it to stick to a certain plan in such conditions, and will this situation delay the premiere date? 

We have such a professional team that we anticipate everything possible in the conditions of filming during the war. We bring generators, additional power sources, power banks, and lighting to each location. 

The situation is complicated by the fact that the stage of pre-production (i.e. calculating the budget, mastering the locations, writing the director’s script), production (directly shooting) and post-production (i.e. editing the footage) takes place simultaneously. And because of this, in order to meet the deadline by the end of the year, the team has been working non-stop for the third month. The world will see the premiere in February-March 2023. 

How did you manage to organize and control the shooting in Barcelona? What is the difference between the Ukrainian and Spanish mentality that you felt during your work? How did the Spaniards treat the Ukrainians and how did they interact with your Ukrainian team? 

Oh, it was one hundred percent the most difficult shoot of all. Here I want to single out the titanic work and crisis management of our line producer Maryna Romanenko. After all, all the equipment was booked from different rentals (in Spain there was only one rental where you could take everything in one place, but it was far from Barcelona and asked for a lot of money). 

Therefore, we collected devices all over the city, we here from Ukraine had to ensure timely payment of everything to various accounts. And the Spanish team was generally disappointed – they are on the edge and relaxed, not used to hurrying. 

Ours prepared everything as clearly as possible – Artur Lerman painted the director’s production in detail, mastered the location remotely. Yevhen Usanov prepared a 3D modeling of the lighting of each frame. The Spaniards only had to reproduce it. But when the shooting started, they somehow “turned on the bullfight” and started arguing about how they see the shot. 

Our director and operator supervised their colleagues from Kyiv. And as soon as we gathered in a cafe, we adjusted the zoom to remotely display a shot in Barcelona – rockets started flying at Kyiv, the light and the Internet disappeared. And the zoom signal came to us late. The most nervous moment, considering that the shooting had to take place strictly on time, because day and evening lighting was planned, which had to fit into it.

What are the processes of shooting a film influenced by a creative producer? How is it to try on a new professional role?

At one time, I worked for 5 years on television in various roles – from screenwriter to author and project manager. And besides, I had my own production company, so I know all the filming processes. However, professional cinema is another level that has always attracted me. There are many new processes and people in the team here for me. 

As a creative producer, I was involved in project development from scratch: concept development and project presentation. Well, I have all further creative control: from the idea to the release on the screen. It was my duty to collect the dreamcast and unite them into one stable and effective team. It was important to involve creative units corresponding to the idea of the film: from the director and screenwriter to the editing director for these tasks. In addition, I make sure that all funding is used and that the conditions under which it was provided are respected. 

Sometimes the creative producer himself controls and approves the editing, sound and music. Sometimes he gives freedom to the director, and then makes his edits and suggestions. Here I think Arthur Lerman and I will come to an agreement. After all, at all stages before that, it was possible to find a common language. 

Creative producer Lyubov Mochalova

Negotiations with Netflix: at what stage are the arrangements now? How do you plan to enter the platform, what are the difficulties of placing the film on the global streaming platform?

The specificity of cooperation with global platforms is that they cannot be offered a project directly. They work only through their registered special agents, and they had to be accessed separately. Given that Ukraine does not have much experience in placing its products there – we are looking for these agents through all possible personal networking of the team.  And we have just presented the teaser and synopsis of the tape – we will show them to the agents as well. After all, you have to go to them with something ready. And just pointing fingers that we will have a great movie doesn’t work. 

When will the world see the teaser of the film?

We will present the teaser at a big press conference in Kyiv in mid-December. 

Photo: press service