The star of Dovbush categorically refused to appear in a movie where Ukrainians are shown as morons and idiots

Ukrainian actor and Dovbush star Oleksii Hnatkovskyi spoke out against "low-grade" films that ridicule Ukrainians and portray them as stupid, uneducated people. He stated that he immediately rejects such contracts and that the funds allocated for cinema, in his opinion, would be better spent on the needs of the army than on spreading Russian narratives.

In an interview with Espresso.TV, the actor recalled a petition that he had to sign by force in order not to disgrace Ukrainian culture through low-quality cinema. The meaning of the document was to direct all the funds allocated for film production to the Armed Forces.

"That petition signed by the film community to give money to the army, the money that was allocated for cinema, is a terrible petition, I'm sorry that it was signed. But I will sign it too. Because what is being allocated now is a disgrace in terms of cinema. We are at war in the country, we have to make good, high-quality films. But this is big politics, it's not even about cinema and art anymore. It's about politics. It's about usurpation," he emphasized.

It seems that due to the financing of low-quality films, Oleksii Hnatkovskyi will hardly ever act in films. However, we should not worry that we will not see this year's sexiest Ukrainian artist on the screens. The actor has put forward two conditions for continuing his film career: in high-level films or with a good payout.

"I didn't say I wouldn't act in movies. I said that I would either act in professional projects in terms of the profession, art, and high level or if it's good money because this is my profession, I make a living from it. But I will not act in something where Ukrainians are shown as morons, idiots, and where they are minorities – this is important to me," the actor explained.

Hnatkovskyi will soon be seen in two more films if he doesn't refuse the role, as he is currently carefully considering his participation in projects.

"As for me, I have several offers, one of which I turned down, and I'm thinking about the others. I hope that we in Ukraine will have an understanding that first of all, all funds should go to the Armed Forces. But I always say that Russia did not attack us with tanks or missiles. It came first with the Russian language, Russian culture, Russian narratives," he said.

According to the actor, culture needs tremendous support and funding to erase Russian narratives from the Ukrainian information space. He advised to try to develop a quality product to suffer less from oppression in the future.

"Where did 'Russian speakers' come from in Ukraine? This is the foundation that we need to fight against and do our own thing. This is what we need to allocate a lot of money for. Because our enemy, look, they allocate huge amounts of money for film production, for their education, for their culture. The first thing they do when they enter the occupied territories is to change the signs, the language, burn books, and make their own. That's why we need to allocate funds in the country – after the Armed Forces – for education and culture," the artist said.

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