Чугайстер

The kindest family story of the Carpathians, soon in cinemas. Not as scary as they paint him.

Premiere · 2027 Filmed in the Carpathians For the whole family
Until the first day of filming days hours minutes seconds

Everyone says: if you see him — run.

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They say someone lives in this forest.
Legends turned him into a terrifying monster. Children have been scared with his name for four hundred years.
Marta didn't run. She came closer.
And saw what no one had ever seen. He isn't scary. He is scared.
What happened next — see it in cinemas.
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Who is Chuhaister?

Who is Chuhaister in mythology?

Chuhaister is a forest spirit from the Hutsul mythology of the Carpathians: a shaggy forest man living deep in the woods. Ethnographers Volodymyr Hnatiuk and Volodymyr Shukhevych recorded his descriptions over a century ago. In the legends he is kind: he loves songs and dancing, warms himself by shepherds' fires — and lets people go in peace, sometimes with a talisman.

Is Chuhaister good or evil?

Good. In folk tales he protects people in the forest — he is no monster. He was made scary much later, and that is what our film is about: two children discover the truth the legends knew all along.

Is he the Chuhaister from "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors"?

Yes, the very same. In Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky's classic novella, Ivan meets Chuhaister in the night forest and dances with him — one of the most famous scenes in Ukrainian literature (and in Parajanov's legendary 1964 film). Our movie continues that tradition: a Chuhaister you dance with, not run from.

What is the film about and when is the premiere?

A family adventure about eight-year-old Marta and her brother who find a wounded Chuhaister in a Carpathian forest — not a fairy-tale giant at all, but a sweet clumsy forest creature the size of a teenager. Premiere in 2027 in Ukrainian cinemas; international release to follow. Subscribe below to be the first to know.

The full story of the legend: who Chuhaister really is →

Filming diary

  1. The forest woke up

    We are choosing a Carpathian forest that looks like someone truly lives in it. A few candidates already — the one in the video above is a favourite.

  2. Casting is open

    We are looking for Marta and more. Chuha personally reviews the applications — he sits in on closed auditions waiting for the ones who won't run.

  3. First day of filming

    Camera, forest, mist — everything we bring back will appear here and on our socials. From then on, the crew writes this diary.

  4. Oi yo!

    More to come.

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when he leaves the forest

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