On A Whim Films

25/01/2024

🎬✨ Last summer, together with , brought “Lastik” to life, and it's been making waves at international film festivals ever since. Proud to share the accolades from Berlin and London! 🌟

Big cheers to the team and the magic of storytelling. 🙌🏻🦾 "Lastik" is a Semi-finalist at the London International Filmmakers Festival and a nominee at the . 🎥🏅

11/10/2022

Filmmaking math:
We had two weeks of prepping, 20 people in our crew, 1 high-powered filming day, a beautiful top full of hundreds of pearls, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored deadlines, screams, laughs… and also a quart of coffee, another quart of coffee, a case of coffee, a pint of coffee and two dozens of espresso shots.

Not that we needed all that for the trip to Riga, but once you get locked into serious video-making the tendency is to push it as far as you can.

Stay tuned.

Cast: Evelīna Baha .baha
Jāzeps Podnieks

Director: Asya Nikolaev’s
DOP: Ritvars Bluka
Producer: Vadim Zaikovsky
Production manager: Valentin Nagibin
1st AC: Lote Peizuma
Gaffer: Matīss Livčāns
Spark: Viesturs Strelčs .strelcs
Production Sound Mixer: Matīss Kušķis
Production Designer: Diāna Rābante
Set decorator: Ieva Anna Gulbe
Props on set: Daria Kravtsova .kravzz
Construction: Dāvis Rābants, Nauris Stalažs
Costume Designer: Ksenija Krasnodembska
Set Costumer: Margarita Žukova
MUAH: Renate Jujukina
Set Administrator: Anna Mgdesjan
Edit/Sound Design/CC: Vadim Glushkov
Special thanks:
Katya Zabudska

Madara Mela
Katrīna Ieva
Uldis Grass

07/10/2022

Fasten your seatbelts. Let our new video take you to a very different time and place. Let’s move from outer catastrophes to inner struggles. Is there still love? How has it changed over the last epic years? Should we enjoy love like never before?

You may find answers or even more questions but isn’t it what art is all about?

All the true colors of love and intimacy we tried to explain in black and white language. With a tiny twist. Stay tuned.
________________

13/05/2021

Our beloved and long-awaited premiere is finally live on Hyvio. Our journey started in 2019 with a team of talented creatives and a big dream in our hearts. We can proudly state that «On A Whim» was acquired by First Focus International and is now available on a global streaming platform.

A story of Lora, a beauty aching to experience something physical other than her routine panic attacks. Her husband Paul, a rugged elitist, sees her only as his contemporary trophy wife. And tonight on his birthday, Lora finds it harder than ever to keep her cool or move past. It is time for her to set herself free once and for all.

Watch the film here: https://hyvio.com/firstfocusinternational/lXgRq7po

Director: Asya Nikolaeva
DP: Pavel Fedorov
Producer: Unique Cooper, Asya Nikolaeva
Writer: Asya Nikolaeva, Samantha McGurk
Edit: Pavel Fedorov, Bridget Ling
Cast: Sophia Del Pizzo, Robert Chestnut, Joseph Paul
Music: Nata Smirina, Ilya Misyura

30/12/2020

What a controversial year it is!
In the very end of 2020 our film «On A Whim» won 9 awards at 3 independent film festivals.

This December seems to be momentous for On A Whim Films, as we were planning the premiere but it turns out that our festival journey has just begun!

All the best coincidences usually happen on a whim - that is our main mantra believe or not ..:))

Cheers to the beloved cast & crew of ON A WHIM:

Independent Shorts Awards (ISA):
⁃ Film of the Month: Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
⁃ Best Women Short: «On a Whim» by Asya Nikolaeva (Ukraine)
⁃ Best Director (Female): Asya Nikolaeva for «On a Whim» (Ukraine)
⁃ Best Actress: Sophia Del Pizzo for «On a Whim» (Ukraine)
Link:https://independentshortsawards.com/award-winners-october-2020/

Montreal Independent Film Festival:
- Best Female Director
Link:https://www.torontofilmmagazine.com/post/miff-announces-its-latest-winners

IndieX Film Fest:
- Award of Excellence (Special Mention): On a Whim by Asya Nikolaeva (Ukraine)
- Best Drama Short: On a Whim by Asya Nikolaeva (Ukraine)
- Best Director (Female): Asya Nikolaeva for On a Whim (Ukraine)
- Outstanding Achievement Award (Cinematography): Pavel Fedorov for On a Whim (Ukraine)
Links:https://indiexfest.com/award-winners-december-2020/
https://indiexfest.com/award-winners-of-december-2020-technical-categories/

21/12/2020

On this very special day of humanity's transition into the long-awaited era of Aquarius, we want to proclaim the «Blessed Message»! Our team supposes that the Good News are an absolute necessity at the very end of the unforgettable 2020!!:)))
Premiere of our fun, fast and remote music video for Счастливые люди in collaboration with our beloved LEVGENIY🕊🙏🏻🤍

Director: Asya Nikolaeva
DP: Pavel Fedorov, Sasha Bagaziy
Editing: Alexey Boychenko
Producer: Alina Yun
Cast: Denis Rhavsky, Toma Rybka, Evgeniy Lapchenko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R366WKvA8vU&t=15s

Счастливые люди - Благая весть! (OST LEVGENIY / ЛЕВГЕНИЙ)В кадре: Денис Ржавский, Тома Рыбка, Евгений Лапченко, Ричард Брэнсон и многие другие.Режиссер: Ася ...

15/11/2020

We are announcing a creative call for graphic designers out there in the world. The premiere of our new short «On A Whim» is coming soon (December 2020). This work is special to us because it marked the beginning of our production company.

We have attached the original poster and references (please swipe right to see them). References are included to show examples of works that inspired us. Although we don’t want to limit your creative thought and imagination.

«On A Whim» is a story of Lora, a beauty aching to experience something physical other than her routine panic attacks. Her husband Paul, a rugged elitist, sees her only as his contemporary trophy wife who should be thankful for her position in his life. Now it is time for her to decide and choose her own path.

07/10/2020

This month each week, starting from today 7th of October (22pm Moscow time/ 12 pm Pacific Time), our founder and director Asya Nikolaeva will be a speaker in a big educational marathon organized by Skillbox, a digital education institute. Asya will uncover the mysterious world of being a film director. Join her to know more about filmmaking!

Follow the link https://live.skillbox.ru/webinars/movie/rezhissura-professiya-ili-laifstail071020/

Мы обучаем востребованным интернет-профессиям в сфере дизайна, программирования, маркетинга и управления проектами.

06/10/2020

There are always answers. We just fail to notice them. Join director Asya Nikolaeva with cinematographer Pavel Fedorov as they cover the details of Levgeniy creation process and answer the most asked question.
https://youtu.be/9Cjphtwi5lo

Directed by Asya Nikolaeva
Filmed by Pavel Fedorov

LEVGENIY is a documentary short by Asya Nikolayeva and Pavel Fedorov. This is a film about all of us: everyone who has ever been on a journey, on an adventure, chasing their private rendition of the American Dream. LEVGENIY follows a year in the life of a young Ukrainian artist Yevgeny Lapchenko, who comes to San Francisco to experience endless ups and downs, inspiration, disappointment, and ultimate love for California, Ukraine, and art.

Ответы есть всегда. Мы просто не замечаем их. Присоединяйтесь к режиссеру Асе Николаевой и оператору Павлу Федорову, которые расскажут о деталях процесса соз...

22/09/2020

Watch «Symphony» short online
https://vimeo.com/457407669

Written by Sophia Del Pizzo
Directed by Asya Nikolaeva
Filmed by Pavel Fedorov

Symphony - Sophia Del Pizzo
Jethro - Jimmi Simpson

Sound - Vincent Madero
Edited by Sophia Del Pizzo

We would love to thank everyone for the moments, passion, best guided meditation, healthy champagne, willingness to experiment and constant brilliant improvisation that happened on a whim.

A satire short showing a story of Symphony, who has been out of the limelight since she escaped the infamous cult started by her mother. Now, with family money, but no family, she edges closer to reconciling with her mother. This is just the beginning of her big life spiritual journey..

Symphony has been out of the limelight since she escaped the infamous cult started by her mother. Now, with family money, but no family, she edges closer to reconciling…

19/09/2020

We are happy to share with you the stills from our upcoming music video project for Christian Löffler on his track «Ballet». We had a chance to capture San Francisco’s emptied and powerful scenes during the fires with two enchanted dancers and mesmerizing music.

Christian Löffler (born April 5, 1985 in Greifswald) is a German techno and electronic musician. His music is a fusion of melancholy with euphoria, while his deep moving melancholic sound, is absolutely irresistible.

19/08/2020

Each and every project we undertake is a reflection of our view of the world around us. The ideas are in the air, you just have to reach out and take a step forward. In November 2018 we recorded a video message, a call for a creative alliance, that meant to lead us to like-minded artists. That call was answered. We discovered project Astronata, the soloist of which is well known all over Ukraine as a founder of band Pur:Pur.

The idea of the music video was to deliver a feeling of chase and create an atmosphere of magnetism between the two main characters, played by Vlad Kozlov, a dancer from the Bolshoi Theatre, and our friend, American actress, Kendra McPhee. Kendra's character hits the hero with a car, knocks him down like a strong feeling of love. Their paths were meant to cross.

It seems the paths of our director, Asya Nikolaeva, and Astronata’s soloist, Nata Smirina, were also meant to cross. Both of them come from the same city of Kharkiv, both of them heard of each other, but had never met. The fantasy and real life came together in San Francisco.

Our journey through film festivals started very spontaneously when we received a response from the London International Short Film Festival! The festival «word of mouth» did the rest, as if we were riding a wave, landing «Pain» the place in four more international festivals!

It was an amazing experience for all of the members of the team. We all looking towards the future and new challenges to repeat and surpass that success!

Single "Pain" stream & download: https://lnk.to/Astronata_Pain Created by ON A WHIM Films Director: Asya Nikolaeva https://www.facebook.com/asya.nikolaeva.58...

29/06/2020

Routine days, walks and talks of director Asya Nikolaeva and artist Evgeniy Lapchenko while making a photoshoot with Pavel Fedorov in Tenderloin after the wrap of LEVGENIY movie.

About artistic life in San Francisco and much more other controversial things watch in the new issue of (YouTube channel by Ksenia Chabanenko) tomorrow at 10 am Pacific Time.

27/05/2020

Asya Nikolaeva about LEVGENIY:
It came out that our take on Silicon Valley magic is quite different from the general statistics!:))
Read the whole interview on Yabl.

LEVGENIY documentary is available here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

На днях режиссер Ася Николаева и оператор Павел Федоров презентовали широкой публике ленту LEVGENIY – фильм о том, как художник из Киева переехал в Кремниевую долину. ....

18/05/2020

Watch LEVGENIY documentary short online.
https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

Directed by Asya Nikolaeva
Filmed by Pavel Fedorov
Starring Evgeniy Lapchenko

LEVGENIY is a film about all of us: everyone who has ever been on a journey, on an adventure, chasing their private rendition of the American Dream. LEVGENIY follows a year in the life of a young Ukrainian artist Yevgeny Lapchenko, who comes to San Francisco to experience endless ups and downs, inspiration, disappointment, and ultimate love for California, Ukraine and Art.

Короткометражный документальный фильм “ЛЕВГЕНИЙ” Аси Николаевой и Павла Федорова о каждом из нас, кто находится в поиске, в пути, в своём собственном приключ...

18/05/2020

LEVGENIY | "Selfie with Branson" clip

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

16/05/2020

LEVGENIY | "Yachts and paints" clip

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

15/05/2020

Meet the whole crew of “LEVGENIY”
Director: Asya Nikolaeva
Cinematographer: Pavel Fedorov
Star: Evgeniy Lapchenko

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

15/05/2020

LEVGENIY | "Sick as sin" clip

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

15/05/2020

Behind the "LEVGENIY" scenes.
Photography by Pavel Fedorov.
Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

14/05/2020

Esquire official premiere!!
"LEVGENIY" is online!

Hope you'll enjoy our documentary short, directed by Asya Nikolaeva, shot by Pavel Fedorov and starring Evgeniy Lapchenko.

It was a very long, exciting, lazy, drunk, inspiring and artistic journey in a very different Silicon Valley.

Please support us, spread the word, subscribe, enjoy the screening and let us know, what you think!

36-минутная сага о том, как американская мечта проходит испытание реальностью.

14/05/2020

Director of the film, Asya Nikolaeva, about "LEVGENIY"

13/05/2020

LEVGENIY documentary. Coming May 14th, 2020.

13/05/2020

LEVGENIY | "Thinking and alcohol" clip

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/f2n7r7NQirY

13/05/2020

On the edge of the American Dream.
Watch the official trailer for LEVGENIY. Coming May 14th, 2020.

13/05/2020

Hide and seek with the American Dream.
LEVGENIY documentary coming May 14th, 2020.

10/05/2020

Hi!
We are Asya and Pavel.
We are here to film, to create, to dream and to share our stories and experience with you.
We met in San Francisco and made a choice on a whim to continue our filmmaking journey together ..:))
Our projects rise in a beautiful cinematic spontaneity and with huge love to details.
In spring 2020 we founded a production company On A Whim Films that already has a lot of stories to show and much more to tell!
Please dream big, stay safe, be loved and watch with us ❤️