Childhood dreams are idealistic because it’s natural for a child not to model out life’s difficulties or evaluate her prospects through the lens of reality, but instead through the vivid colors of her own imagined world.
«I’ll be an actress, marry a producer, and move to Italy!» — 10-year-old Mariia Demydenko (who now goes by Mary) once said with sincere excitement. Of course, to Italy. Italian music was everywhere, Italian brands were the height of fashion, and Italian films were so romantic that even kids were allowed to watch them. The word “Italy” itself melted in the mouth like candy.
When the time came to choose a path in education, the young Kyiv girl with a creative heart opted for a practical profession. No, she didn’t abandon her dream, but she made her choice through the more grown-up lens of a thoughtful girl from a “good family”.
Needless to say, Mary studied with excellence, easily landed a job after graduation, and had every opportunity to build a successful career in international management.
Still, this energetic young woman craved more space for individuality. She approached that need both creatively and rationally, by becoming a manager at a casting agency. There, she finally felt like the atmosphere truly fit her nature. And considering her love for theater and her obsession with never missing a single premiere, it was only natural that Mary decided to pursue acting education. In her very first student film, created by a team from the Ukrainian Film School, she landed the leading role.
Through the expected first steps — commercials and music videos — Mary Demydenko found her way into major film productions. Is that something you’d call inevitable for someone entering such a competitive profession? Probably not. But for Mary Demydenko, it absolutely was. Every step she took in the film industry seemed to reaffirm it.
The world of cinema gave the Ukrainian artist not only a chance to fulfill her childhood dream and fully express her creative side. It also gave her love. Cinematographer Ivan Sakhno, whom Mary met during one of her first shoots, became the one person who could “tame” the fiery beauty. None of their friends believed that a relationship between two such strong, ambitious personalities could go the distance. And yet, over time, their bond only deepened.
Thanks to her organizational skills, experience in casting, and relentless energy, Mary began working as an assistant director on films Ivan Sakhno was shooting as cinematographer. The most important of those, both for Mary personally and for the emerging Ukrainian film industry, were “Escape from Stalin’s Death Camp” and “My Carpathian Grandpa”. Both films were rich in historical and social themes and directed by Zaza Buadze.
On set, colleagues would joke, “Mary’s the one who can manage to sit in two chairs at once — both in front of the camera and behind it”. Each new project gave her more experience, more confidence, and more ideas she wanted to bring to life. Thoughts of launching her own production company, in a family of two filmmakers, came quite naturally.
But in February 2022, that steady and inspiring momentum was disrupted. And so was her entire worldview. Mary found herself in the Czech Republic. Ivan stayed in Ukraine. Surprisingly, the forced separation brought them closer and led to their decision to officially marry. As she contemplated her next steps in the midst of this new and chaotic reality, Mary took a job as a waitress at a hotel in Prague.
Some things that happened afterward could honestly be described as straight out of a movie. Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho famously wrote about the art of reading signs in his novel The Alchemist, and Mary had one of her own.
One day, the only Hollywood star she had ever truly wanted to meet checked into the very hotel where she worked. After a brief conversation, Johnny Depp told her, “You should go to Hollywood”.
It wasn’t something Mary had planned, but the words planted a seed. Her husband supported her. If anyone knew Mary’s potential, it was him.
She arrived in the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, having met her future sponsor almost by chance. There was never any doubt in her mind where to go in this unfamiliar new country — Los Angeles. Tens of thousands of ambitious Americans move there every year in search of creative opportunities. For a foreigner like Mary, the path to recognition would be immeasurably harder. But that wasn’t going to stop her.
As an actress and as a person of action, she began meeting with agents and quickly realized that the role that could bring her success might take a month, a year, or even years to arrive.
Could that challenge be solved both creatively and rationally? Absolutely — if you believe in yourself and refuse to give up. So, Mary decided to write a role for herself.
Out of many story ideas swirling in her mind, she chose the one that felt the most meaningful. And the most emotional. Over three years of wandering across countries — by train, plane, and through unfamiliar cities — she kept meeting Ukrainian women, forced to start their lives from scratch, to tap into inner reserves they didn’t know they had, and to protect their identities in a crumbling world.
The raw, honest stories of these women — vulnerable, yet incredibly strong — touched her deeply. And she, too, was one of them. From working night shifts in factories to serving tables in Prague, to building a career in Hollywood — she had lived it all.
Emigration in general, and forced emigration in particular, is one of the defining challenges of today’s world. Not just for individuals, but for entire nations. Countries and continents alike are grappling with legal and illegal migration.
Mary Demydenko built a concept for a series about Ukrainian women, with the story unfolding between Ukraine and France.
As it turns out, she wasn’t the only one who believed the idea would resonate with audiences. She was supported by Zaza Buadze, a respected Ukrainian director with whom she had worked before and whom she trusts completely, both as an artist and as a human being. He wrote the script for the upcoming series, and the producer of the project is Mary’s husband, Ivan Sakhno, with whom she shares both creative vision and life partnership.
Mary managed to attract investors. In under two years in the U.S., she co-founded her own production company, 4U Film Company, together with Ivan. She secured financing for her first independent project, held negotiations with a respected French production company for co-production, and organized the entire pre-production phase. The series, titled «Yellow & Blue», will begin filming this year.
A story about the strength of spirit and the strength of love. Mary is convinced that what drives her is her own creative soul. And if, as her father used to say, “everything happens in its own time”, then her time is now.
Today, this rising producer operates within a much broader canvas — a reimagined picture of the world. Her next goals: to create a mobile platform that helps streamline actor casting, and to develop several new tech-driven tools for the film industry. And who knows — maybe one day, the world will watch a new film.
A biopic about Mary Demydenko.
