Ukrainian studio KAPI has joined the production of Dalia and the Red Book officially

The project of animated feature film Dalia and the Red Book, presented in Ukraine by studio KAPI, has won the pitching of the Ukrainian State Film Agency in the category "Animated feature films (for a wide audience)". The animation will get financial support in the amount of around 500,000$.

It is an ambitious international collaboration. It involves three production companies from Argentina and one each from Spain, Peru, Colombia, and now Ukraine.

The producer of the film is Alvaro Urtizberea (Argentina). Michael Margulis, CEO of the studio KAPI, is an executive producer from the Ukrainian side. The main director of the project is David Bisbano; the director Oksana Karpus will manage the production process on the Ukrainian side.

Reference information. Director David Bisbano is a well-known author in the world of animation. His animated films have been presented at major international film festivals and have won several awards. Thus, his previous 3D animated film A Mouse Tale was sold to 80 countries.

Ukrainian director Oksana Karpus, a winner of the Prize of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine named after Lesya Ukrainka, has extensive experience in stop motion animation. In particular, she also has experience in large international projects. She was a director from the Ukrainian side within the production of the Ukrainian-French series "Planet Grabo" (25 series; 12 minutes each), which was shown on 65 TV channels around the world.

Dalia and the Red Book combines different techniques - CGI, stop motion, and 2D animation. A genre of the film - adventure, family. Timing - 85 minutes.

“Adolfo (55), a famous story writer, decides to write his first novel and makes his daughter Dalia (6) the gift of allowing her to include a character in the story. She picks a goat, like her fuzzy toy. After her father’s death, Dalia (12) is kidnapped by the characters in her father’s story. Through a portal, they make her a part of the unfinished novel’s plot: The Red book. While she struggles to find a way out and is helped by the goat, Dalia must come face to face with the characters in the story, which will do anything to become the main characters of the book. She is the only one capable of writing the final chapter though she doesn’t feel confident enough. Dalia has only 12 hours, one blank page, and a pen to complete the story. The adventure into the book will bring her to realize who her father’s friends and enemies were; she will write the ending and discover whether she too wants to be a writer or not,” says the synopsis to the film.

Film production has been going on since 2017. The storyboard (more than 500 sheets), 3D animatic, and 40 minutes of animated material are ready so far.

The Ukrainian team of the film will work on the detailed development of lighting schemes, special lighting of objects, and the creation of 20 minutes of 3D animation from the overall timing of the film.

Even though its premiere is scheduled for 2023, Disney has already snagged the rights to distribute Dalia and the Red Book throughout Latin America.

Learn more about the project here.