

83 minutes
7/23/1980
Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The Spirit of the Forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

Liudmyla Yefymenko
as Mavka

Viktor Kremlev
as Lukash

Maya Bulgakova
as Lukash’s Mother

Ivan Mykolaichuk
as Uncle Leo / Wood Goblin

Boris Khmelnitsky
as Red (forest) Demon

Viktor Demertash
as Koots

Liudmyla Lobza
as Kylyna

Nina Shatskaya
as Water Sprite

Svetlana Sergeyeva
as Meadow Fairy
Ivan Khodulin
as Kylyna’s child

Pylyp Illienko
as Kylyna’s child
Vladimir Fyodorov
as Hunger Imps