The film was shot in the capital of Ukraine and the Kyiv region in 2021. Italian studios Pilgrim Film and Bartleby Film worked on the film. The project was also supported by the State film agency of Ukraine and the European Eurimages Foundation. A large group of film experts created an international project that tells about the path of a person who was born in prison and later began to work there. The film director, Andrea Magnani, drew a parallel between the prison and parents, hometown, and country. The film teaches that only with your own hands you can change something.
To recreate the idea, several pavilions were built in Ukraine. One of them, the red prison, was erected near Kyiv. Also, Ukrainian actors and other specialists were involved in the filming. So, the decorator of the film was the Ukrainian production designer Oleksandr Batieniev. And the role of the main character in childhood was performed by Ukrainian actor Maksym Kostiunin. Italian actor Adriano Tardiolo played the main role – an adult guy born from the parents of prisoners.
The premiere of the film Jailbird took place at film festivals in Tallinn and Torino. On June 15, the premiere of the Ukrainian Italian film will take place at the Ukrainian festival in Chernivtsi. Andrea Magnani will be present at the premiere, even though the neighbouring state constantly threatens the shelling of all Ukrainian cities. By the way, the team that worked on the film focuses on the fact that Jailbird is a story that remembers Ukraine before and after the Russian invasion. Experts say that in 2021 Ukraine was an open platform for cooperation and creation of new films. Now everything is complicated. For example, some Ukrainians who worked on the film in 2021, 2023 are at the front in the armed forces of Ukraine.
