Nacelle signs for Maiden’s film Comedy Of War: Laughter In Ukraine

EXCLUSIVE: Gondola, the studio behind Sober with Zac Efron And Grant, Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History, struck a deal to distribute a feature film shot during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The company has worldwide rights to Comedy of War: Laughter in Ukraine.

Courtesy of filmmakers Christopher Walters and Krista Liney, who direct producer Maiden, the documentary tells the brutal realities of the conflict through the lenses of stand-up comedians touring war-torn Ukraine. Nacelle plans to get The Doctor into film festivals before it is sold worldwide.

The documentary follows four rising stars of Ukrainian stand-up comedy, each with a unique perspective on the war currently raging in their homeland. They perform in converted air raid shelters and laugh despite the war, not about it.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago and has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced. comedy of war‘s filmmakers say citizens tried to maintain a sense of normalcy despite the danger.

Gondel’s deal was negotiated by Anna Roberts. Walters and Liney are directing the project, with former A+E executive Liney serving as executive producer and Walters as cinematographer. Joshua Zimmerman produced the film with Ukrainian producer Anton Tymoshenko. LA-based Ukrainian-speaker David Dodson serves as editor. During his acting career, he directed several comedy films starring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“This is a complex, multi-layered story. It’s about resilience and survival. It’s about chasing dreams. It’s an upbeat, yet very real, visceral portrayal of everyday life in war-torn Ukraine for these comedians,” said Liney.

“Within hours of learning of this film’s existence, we worked single-mindedly to tackle a project so important that we felt a physical need to give it as much attention as possible ,” said Brian Volk-Weiss, founder and CEO of Gondel.

Nacelle’s document suite includes Sober with Zac Efron and nominated for the NAACP Image Award Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History, that of Netflix The films we made And The toy we made, Behind the attraction on Disney+ and Sony crazy about you amongst other things.