Film studio UnitedContentHUB has unveiled the first teaser for the biopic "The Fencer. The Main Bout" — a film about the two-time Olympic champion and Ukrainian sabre fencer Olga Kharlan. The teaser premiered on November 5th at the studio's annual event, where the team summarized their work and announced new projects. The film was presented by the President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Vadym Gutzeit, co-producer Maria Kostina, and international communications producer Yuriy Vityak.
Plot: From first steps to the main bout
According to the authors' vision, the film will trace Kharlan's entire sports career: her first steps in fencing, key victories, injuries, and defeats. The film is directed by Denys Tarasov, with the script written by Maria Tkachyk, Andrii Nohin as executive producer, and Yevhen Kirei as director of photography. Among the central episodes highlighted in the State Film Agency's project description is the athlete's refusal to shake hands with her Russian opponent after their bout at the 2023 Fencing World Championships in Milan.
Personal narrative and working with the protagonist
A separate storyline will be dedicated to Kharlan's relationship with Italian sabre fencer Luigi Samele, known as Gigi; the team plans to recreate their first meeting during filming in Italy. As co-producer Maria Kostina noted, during the script development stage, the team conducted dozens of interviews with Kharlan, which allowed for a deeper understanding of her experiences and decisions beyond the competition arena. "We laughed together, went through difficult moments, and sometimes couldn't hold back our tears," she remarked.
Timeline and industrial journey of the project
The start of production, according to Vadym Gutzeit, is scheduled for the spring of 2027. Working materials for the project have already been demonstrated at industrial events of the 83rd Venice Film Festival as part of the "Work in Progress" presentation. The film is being created as part of the "Thousand-Verst" initiative by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
Thus, the biopic is positioned as a large-scale sports biographical film that combines a documentary foundation built on personal interviews with the protagonist and an artistic interpretation of her career and personal life. The expected start of filming in spring 2027 makes the project one of the most notable announcements in Ukrainian cinema for the near future.
