For the first time, a Ukrainian series premiered on Netflix: what The First Days is about and why viewers are touched by the trailer

On November 1, a Ukrainian series premiered on the popular American streaming platform Netflix for the first time ever. The service's historic purchase of a product by Ukrainian filmmakers took place when The First Days project was already ready. It will tell six different stories that will be united only by a time period, the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The plot was written by Ukrainian screenwriters: Anastasia Lodkina, Artem Lytvynenko, Pavlo Ostrikov, Tala Prystaietska, and Serhii Lushchyk. Each of them dedicated an episode to a story based on real events. OBOZ.UA decided to tell you more about the premiere and the reaction of Ukrainians (to see photos and videos, scroll to the bottom of the page).

The directors of the drama series are: Oleksii Yesakov, Artem Lytvynenko, Pavlo Ostrikov, Tala Prystaietska, Valentyn Shpakov, and Katia Tsaryk.

In the late spring of 2022, when The First Days was just an idea, the German studio and distributor Red Arrow Studios International agreed to become the first foreign partner of the Ukrainians. Later, the series got other partners, and people in Europe started talking about its projected success.

The creators of the series emphasized that the stories of their characters are not fiction but real situations in which Ukrainians found themselves during the war. For example, one of the characters was a Kyiv artist who was left alone on Khreshchatyk in the first days of the full-scale invasion. His character was based on the story of Ukrainian singer Andrii Danylko.

Actor Viacheslav Dovzhenko embodied the image of a pop star, adding a little bit of himself, as he also stayed at home during the first days of the invasion of Kyiv region. Dovzhenko read the plot of the series personally before filming.

Other episodes will be dedicated to different Ukrainians in different life situations. The series turned out to be so multifaceted that at the premiere of the trailer, Ukrainians could not hold back their tears, drawing parallels with themselves, their families and friends.

"Let the series make as many people in the West sob as possible. It's really hard for them to understand", "I'm already crying. I can't imagine how much pain it will raise in every Ukrainian", "The trailer alone brought tears to my eyes", "I watched the trailer and am crying," the comments say.

On November 1, The First Days was shown on Netflix in Ukraine and a number of European countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo. In addition, in more than 12 countries, such as Iceland, Australia and France, the film will be shown on national TV channels. In Ukraine, the novelty will also be available on 1+1 TV channel next year.

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