Yatagan: Warriors are made.

Project Manager — Viktoria Katrenko Creative Director — Max Hurov Creative Copy — Polina Shumacher Post-Production Producer — Maryna Rozmaritsa Illustrator/Motion — Nastya Falileieva Artist/Music — Misha Pravylniy SFX — Andrii Borysenko

To break through banner blindness and draw attention to a joint fundraising campaign by PrivatBank and the Come Back Alive Foundation in support of the Yatagan School, we deliberately moved away from the conventional portrayal of military strength. Instead, we chose an unexpected and emotionally engaging format — a myth-like fairytale that captures the viewer’s attention from the very first seconds and speaks through symbolism rather than force. The film follows a lone warrior during a cold, moonlit night, when he senses something unusual. As if guided by forest spirits, an unseen force calls him forward, leading him along a hidden path toward the unknown. Floating, magical propellers appear in the air and guide the hero to a yatagan — an ancient blade symbolizing the power and knowledge of warriors from the past. The warrior tries to pull the sword free but realizes he cannot do it alone. At the decisive moment, a Magical Spirit appears — a manifestation of military heritage and shared experience — helping him unlock the blade. The yatagan becomes a metaphor: not merely a weapon, but the transfer of knowledge, trust, and responsibility from one generation of defenders to the next. In the final scene, the sword transforms into a drone — a modern tool of warfare — bridging the past with the present and destroying the enemy. To increase the project’s viral potential and clearly articulate its message, we invited well-known musician Misha Pravilny, who delivers a direct call to action and motivates viewers to donate. The project was technically complex due to frame-by-frame animation and a high level of visual detail. Nevertheless, within two months the team produced a visually refined and cohesive film that was widely distributed across offline media, including cinemas, metro stations, outdoor digital screens, shopping malls, and Intercity trains.