Olias Barco and Thierry Arbogast had the idea of the film for a while - a fantasy about a young girl, who encounters a magical world of cinema. They had a few castings across the Europe to look for the right girl, but without success. Until, accidentally, Polina Pechenenko was discovered in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the FILM.UA studio, where now movie is being filmed.
A lot of characters in the movie, written and directed by Olias Barco, are based on his Ukrainian friends and acquaintances, including Ukrainian celebrities - popular singer and actress Jamala, and award-winning film director Miroslav Slaboshpitsky (The Tribe), to name a few.
'Polina' is a first major Ukrainian film co-production in the genre of fantasy. Film is co-produced by Ukraine, Belgium and France.