The most successful Ukrainian woman in Hollywood: what connects a Kiev woman with Al Pacino, De Niro and Jolie

A special screening of the film Let It Snow took place at the 49th Molodist International Festival. The main role was played by Ivanna Sakhno, who is called “the most successful Ukrainian woman in Hollywood”. The actress attended the film festival as a star guest and also as a member of the jury of an international competition. Writes about it Hromadske.

Who is Ivanna Sakhno

The girl was born in Kyiv into a family of filmmakers. Mom is a director, dad is a cameraman. Since childhood, Ivanna studied ballet, figure skating, and painting, but dreamed of becoming a taxi driver. The film “Amelie” changed everything. The future star watched a French romantic comedy and decided to become an actress. And a year later she received her first role - in the Ukrainian sitcom “Lesya + Roma”. Then the girl was only 9 years old.

At the age of 15, Ivanna moved with her parents to Los Angeles (California), where she entered the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute. Al Pacino, Robert de Niro and Angelina Jolie were graduates of this school at one time. Ivanna studied diligently, improved her English and constantly went to castings. Literally after several not very noticeable projects, the Ukrainian starred in two blockbusters at once: the sequel to the film Pacific Rim and the adventure comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me. These works became a real breakthrough for the actress. Ivanna played the main role in a film by a Ukrainian director - the thriller Let It Snow was shown at the Molodist festival, and in winter it will be released in wide release.

What is the movie about

A couple of snowboarders in love come to Georgia to ski on one of the slopes. Despite warnings about the place's ominous reputation, the heroes still go for a drive. And the couple's plans are spoiled by a mysterious pursuer on a snowmobile.

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They began to actively talk about the full-length debut of the Ukrainian Stanislav Kapralov when the rights to show the tape were bought by the largest American distributor Lionsgate. The film was originally intended only for the American audience, this was the reason for the choice of the genre.

An intense thriller with horror elements seemed like the best idea for a debut in the United States, and the simple story should have been understandable to moviegoers in any country. Judging by the reaction of the world's distributors, the creators of Let It Snow were not mistaken in their choice of genre. By the way, Ivanna herself doesn’t really like watching horror films, but playing them is completely different. For an actress, this is an opportunity to test herself.

Let It Snow was filmed for about a month high in the mountains, the process was tiring both physically and mentally. Before filming began, Ivanna trained in the gym and learned to snowboard. She performed many scenes in the film without an understudy - she ran waist-deep in snow, plunged into icy water. Due to changes in pressure and temperature, blood often came from the nose, and once the actress fainted right on camera. But she bravely completed the scene and just woke up.

Sakhno and Hollywood

Ivanna received her first experience of intensive preparation for the role while working on the sequel to the blockbuster “Pacific Rim”. The actress had a personal nutritionist and fitness trainer - very good physical shape was required to wear heavy suits. Before filming The Spy Who Dumped Me, the actress did boxing and gymnastics. Ivanna considers the preparation process one of the most interesting in cinema, because it is always a challenge, as well as an opportunity to polish the image of the heroine - both internal and physical.

Although the Ukrainian’s popularity came from her roles in blockbusters, she admits that she is now more interested in independent cinema and also wants to try her hand at comedy. Although the Ukrainian does not dream of a specific role, Ivanna is open to experiments. He calls the three pillars of a successful career focus, the ability to defend one’s opinion and constant work on oneself.

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There were no connections with Ukrainian women in Hollywood; they had to achieve everything on their own. Before moving, Ivanna did not know English; she learned it on the spot. To improve her accent, the agents advised the girl to exclude communication in Ukrainian - Ivanka had to move away from her parents and communicate in her native language only in instant messengers.

Sakhno is a rare guest at social parties, because he does not believe that they can contribute to his career. He considers constant castings and the opportunity to demonstrate oneself on the set to be the key to success. The actress can afford to refuse the director’s offer - she does not want to play the same role or become a hostage to a not very attractive “Slavic” image. He calls changing the representation of Ukrainians in Hollywood part of his mission.

“I want to bring authentic Ukrainian stories to world cinema,” says the actress.

Sakhno and Ukraine

During the Revolution of Dignity, Ivanna with the Ukrainian diaspora went to rallies in support of Ukraine. On the red carpet at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, the actress appeared with the Free Sentsov sign.

Ivanna Sakhno wears clothes of Ukrainian designers, regularly comes to Kiev, and the girl's favorite dishes are borscht and dumplings. Now the actress lives in New York and is very happy that the city reminds her of the Ukrainian capital.

There are few opportunities to watch modern Ukrainian cinema in the USA, and Ivanna tries to follow the premieres. Among the directors, he singles out Valentina Vasyanovich ("Black Level", "Atlantis"), from Nariman Aliyev's tapes-drama "Home". And also the actress is intrigued by the reviews and is looking for opportunities to watch "My Thoughts Are Quiet" by Antonio Lukic.

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