An actor from Odesa talked about the filming of the movie "Good Thing Mom Doesn't Know"

The Ukrainian dark comedy-drama *Good Thing Mom Doesn't Know* took eight years to reach its premiere. During that time, the film crew endured two lockdowns, a full-scale invasion, and the occupation of Bucha, where the film’s director and producer were located along with most of the footage they had shot.

Actor Mykhailo Spivakovsky spoke about this in an interview with Intent.

According to him, one of the film’s distinctive features was its open casting call, which attracted over 800 actors. Thanks to this, even actors without formal training were given a chance. Spivakovsky himself also passed the audition and played one of the main characters—the crime boss Gurman.

Production of the film was complicated by the pandemic, full-scale war, and funding issues. At the start of the invasion, director Oleksandr Litvinenko and producer Yevhen Litvinenko found themselves in occupied Bucha. About 65% of the filmed footage was there with them. The team managed to escape.

In an interview, Spivakovsky also spoke about how his attitude toward Ukraine had changed after February 24, 2022. He admitted that he had previously taken little interest in politics, but the war forced him to rethink his views and gain a deeper understanding of Ukrainian culture.

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The actor noted that during a trip to Odesa, he was pleasantly surprised that a taxi driver spoke to him in Ukrainian. He considers supporting the Ukrainian language an important expression of solidarity with the military.

According to Spivakovsky, Ukrainian cinema during the war should not only address complex topics but also help people recover from stress.

“Movies should heal and release all those happiness hormones,” the actor said.

Андрій Колісніченко