8 First Dates

8 First Dates (Russian: «8 первых свиданий», romanized: 8 pervykh svidaniy; Ukrainian: «8 перших побачень», romanized: 8 pershykh pobachen') is a 2012 Russian-Ukrainian^[2][3] romantic comedy film directed by David Dodson and Aleksandr Malyarevsky.^[4] It stars Oksana Akinshina and Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside Denis Nikiforov and Ekaterina Varnava.^[5]

8 First Dates
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Dodson Aleksandr Malyarevsky
Written by	Mikhail Savin Yuri Kostiuk Dmitry Grigorenko Yuri Mikulenko Timofey Saenko Volodymyr Zelenskyy Boris Shefir Sergey Shefir Andrey Yakovlev
Produced by	Ekaterina Gordetskaya Volodymyr Zelenskyy Andrey Radko Sergey Shefir Boris Shefir
Starring	Oksana Akinshina Volodymyr Zelenskyy Denis Nikiforov Ekaterina Varnava
Cinematography	Bruce Allan Green
Edited by	David Dodson
Music by	Bryan Carr
Production companies	Central Partnership Kvartal 95 Studio Production Center GORAD
Release date	March 8, 2012 (2012-03-08) (Russia)
Running time	83 minutes
Countries	Russia Ukraine
Language	Russian
Budget	$2.3 million
Box office	$7,456,577 [1]

Plot

Vera and Nikita don't know each other, but they have one thing in common: they both chose the same venue to celebrate their personal successes. Vera is a successful TV presenter with her own talk show, and she is engaged to Konstantin, a famous tennis player. Nikita is a highly sought-after vet who has proposed to Ilona, a plastic surgeon. Everything is going well for them: they are happy, and their friends support their choices. However, one morning, Vera and Nikita wake up in the same bed, and everything changes. Assuming that this must be the result of a wild night, they run off in different directions, hoping to forget it all as a bad dream.

But the next morning, they wake up in the same bed in the same house, despite each of them being certain that they fell asleep at home. This continues for several more days. Some mysterious force keeps bringing them together, ruining their privacy and perhaps suggesting that they are destined to be together.

Cast

• Oksana Akinshina as Vera Kazantseva
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Nikita Sokolov^[6]
• Denis Nikiforov as Konstantin
• Ekaterina Varnava as Ilona
• Olesya Zheleznyak as Zinaida Ivanovna, manager
• Yevgeny Koshevoy as taxi driver
• Svetlana Khodchenkova as passenger in a taxi
• Victor Vasilyev as Alexey
• Soso Pavliashvili as cameo (singer at the festival)
• Gorod 312 as cameo
• Kostya Nakonechny as Kolya
• Igor Jijikine as Kolya's father
• Yelena Kondulainen as Vera's mother

Awards

In 2013, the film received the Russian National Movie Awards as the Best Russian Comedy of the Year.^[7]

2020 ban

In 2020, 8 First Dates was banned by the Ukrainian State Film Agency because one of its actresses, Ekaterina Varnava, visited Crimea during the Russian occupation to attend a comedy show in 2016. She was then blacklisted for five years.^[8]