Olga Lyubarova

– I’ve been working in casting for five years now. I studied theatre studies and had a lot of contact with actors and performances. One day, “Selfieparty” by Lyubomyr Levytskyi was being filmed in Lviv, and I volunteered on the set, working with Olena Tarakanova and handling extras. A huge number of people were involved every day. I absolutely loved it. Even before that, I had a passion for film production — when I was about 16 or 17, I would join crowds for TV shows. Once on the show “Pack Your Bags”, I played a Mavka! I really enjoyed it, but I wasn’t pursuing acting seriously, and casting felt like a perfect fit.

I got on the project “Easy” — a comedy by Andrea Magnani. There, I worked as an assistant — on set and with the second director. I handled call sheets and worked with the actors. After that, I returned to Lviv and started collaborating with local production companies in advertising. I also handled regional casting when Kyivbased projects came to Lviv. That’s how I met Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk — during the pre-casting of his film “Weightlifter”, which involved the entire Lviv weightlifting federation. I also met Maryna Stepanska: I accidentally found the lead actor for her film “Falling”, and he happened to be from Lviv. Thanks to moments like that, I gradually started getting to know people in the industry. Later, I moved to Kyiv to work as a casting manager at LimeLite. In 2017, I did my first short film with Yana Antonets called “Five Minutes”. Over time, more projects started to appear — now, for example, “Pamfir” by Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. I think it’s going to be the project of the millennium! (laughs).

– I adored “The Light” by director Benedek Fliegauf, who had previously worked with Eva Green. It was supposed to be a co-production between Ukraine, Hungary, and Germany. But right now, I don’t know the fate of that project. It was over a year of work on that film, and I got to know most of the actors during that time. Right now, I’m obsessed with “Pamfir” and can’t wait for the production and release to start. Filming begins soon.

– Graduates from Rushkovskyi’s school really stand out. I was impressed by the performances of Stas Moskvin and Kostia Temliak. What’s amazing is the range of generations trained at Rushkovskyi’s school. They have an incredible ability to adapt to roles, catch everything on the fly, transform from take to take, and really nail the tasks from the director or casting manager. Among the actresses, Marina Eismont stood out. When I saw her photos, I imagined her one way, but when we met for an interview, she revealed a completely different side of herself. I also really like the energy of Alina Kostiukova. She talks about chakras and archetypes, constantly learning new things. Dasha Tvoronovych also comes to mind.

– Every casting director fears being left without projects. Wrapping up one and not getting the next — when no one calls or invites you anywhere. I don’t go around asking people or sending out resumes. Luckily, it usually works out that one project ends just as the next one begins. I’m a workaholic — I enjoy working and juggling several projects at once. I’m good at managing super complicated task combinations. That’s why I always want more.

– Moving to London. But I haven’t made a strategic plan yet. (laughs) I see the theoretical potential of working on international projects. It’s a completely different organization process. Often, for foreign directors, all our actors are fresh faces. So, I really enjoy those moments of discovery and the excitement of finding a fantastic actor. But still, if you’re representing a specific country, the work mostly remains local. I also have some practical, even mercantile, dreams. Like finding a good nanny. It’s not exactly a big dream, but it’s something I think about all the time. I think I’d be much happier if I figured that out.

– In 2018, I was invited to give a lecture at the “Kit Havatovych” theatre festival. I was six or seven months pregnant at the time. I was nervous, reading tons of articles online, and came across an interview with a casting director who mentioned the British portal Spotlight. I started researching how it worked, and it really inspired me. I realized that we didn’t have a proper casting service in Ukraine, so I began studying other platforms and working on something that could be adapted for our casting industry. Things like generating PDF presentations, recording auditions, and project folders — all of which significantly simplify the life of a casting director and speed up their workflow.

Actors also need a place to store their portfolios — both for Ukrainian and international projects. I spent two years developing the idea. During that time, I was in correspondence with Spotlight, and they asked whether we had a casting directors’ association, what level the industry was at. It became clear that everything needed to be built from scratch. At some point, I met Yaroslav Cherepushko, who was then the director of Star Media School, and about a year later we implemented his idea of the Casting Directors Forum. Even though these are separate projects, they’re all interconnected. They create a wave of new events and communication between actors and casting directors. Currently, the beta version of DreamCast is up and running and will continue to be updated. The platform will fully launch once most of our actors are on it. As soon as there are a few thousand users, all casting directors will join — and vice versa. Once there are lots of casting calls, the actors will follow. So, register! We all need it, and it’s not hard!)