A Ukrainian concubine turned to the most powerful woman in Ottoman History - Roxelana.

In a time when the Ottoman Sultan would have no more than one son with one concubine to prevent civil war, Roxelana entered the Ottoman Harem and charmed Suleiman the Magnificent, playing a deadly game of love and politics. In this forbidden love story, Roxelana and Suleiman had six children together, Suleiman became devoted only to her, and eventually, they married.

This was absolutely unheard of at the time. It shook the 16th century empire and broke all of the rules. How could a Ukrainian girl disrupt a century long tradition?

This story has been told from Suleiman’s point of view countless times. The world knows Roxelana as Hürrem Sultan, but we wanted to make a short film that would see the history from her perspective.

As well, as Ukrainian and Turkish collaborators, we wanted to be able to bring a story to life that highlights both of our cultures. The history of Roxelana is not something that has excessively yet travelled to the West, and we want to share about the life of such an incredible Ukrainian woman with those who have not yet heard of her.

This is the story:

As her labour enters its final hours, giving birth to the next heir of the Ottoman Empire, the enslaved concubine ROXELANA relives the traumatic and exhilarating trials of her life.

Delirious from the pain, she enters and exits her memories. She sees her younger self violently taken from her home village in Ruthenia to be later sold as a concubine into the court of Sultan Suleiman.

She witnesses how her favour with the Sultan grows and, against all expectations, love blossoms between them.

THE TEAM

We are Elžbieta and Josh, co-creators of the project, backed by a group of filmmakers from an array of countries - Ukraine, Turkey, Canada, Lithuania, America, Thailand, Poland - working together to bring this story to life. Each of us has taken part in our respective projects, ranging from music videos to features, and we have now come together to collaborate on this story!

FUNDING

We are funding the project ourselves, but are looking to get to the edge of the race with your support. Making a period piece truly takes many resources, so if you have a passion for art, film, the stories of women like Roxelana, and the type of love stories that make your breath catch for a moment, we would love for you to donate!

Funding Breakdown:

You can also follow along as we make the production with our newsletter and instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/roxelana_film/

WHAT YOU GET:

$1500+ Executive Producer + IMDB

$1000+ Associate Producer + IMDB

$500+ Local artist drawn prints

$250+ BTS footage

$100+ Annotated script + original storyboard

$50+ Special thank you video from the horse

$25+ BTS photos of the set

Any amount = special thank you in the credits

There are also other ways to support us! Share this page and our socials with your friends or family members that might be interested.

We’ll be sharing Behind-the-Scenes content, like interviews with our actors, deep-dives into Ottoman history during the period, and production sessions where we brought the auditory and visual elements of the story to life.

Every person who donates 1000+ CAD will receive IMDB and Associate Producer credit, and anyone who donates 1500+ CAD will receive IMDB and Executive Producer credit on the short film.

And, no matter the amount, anyone who donates will receive a special thank you in the credits.

You can always DM us on Instagram to let us know if there is anything you want to see!

Thank you!!