Alexandre Avancini and Adam Simon are getting ready for their first feature movie together.
The opening scene is a beautiful campground filled with young men and women waking up peacefully and going about their day. They are brutally interrupted by a group of Russian soldiers, who brutally storm their campground. The audience realizes that the encamped group is actually a Ukrainian garrison of drone operators and snipers escaping the Russians. Through various flashbacks in the battle, the audience learns the stories of what each ordinary Ukrainian citizens went through to become snipers for the Ukrainian army. Even schoolteachers turned into soldiers after their children and loved ones died at the hands of the Russians.
Tiana Pongs, a German-born actress and producer living in Los Angeles, was thrilled at the chance to work with Alexandre Avancini and Adam Simon Gregory for this film. She is playing the role of Anna, the schoolteacher who joined the Ukrainian army after her son was murdered by Russian soldiers.
As well as being an actress, Pongs is the producer of Magda, a project she made with Kasia Pilewicz and Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin last year. She is also a model, and has been in L’Oréal, Mercedes-Benz, and Tommy Hilfiger campaigns. Her first prominent acting roles were in UFA’s famous German TV shows Forbidden Love and Unter Uns.
Brazilian director Alexandre Avancini has worked on brilliant blockbusters for over 35 years, famously The Ten Commandments, Nothing to Lose, and Nothing to Lose 2. The Ten Commandments broke all box office records in Brazil with 11.2 million tickets sold, and the two Nothing to Lose films have grossed more than $56 million together in Brazil alone. The duology is available on Netflix. Adam Gregory Simon writer and Co-producer of War and Peace is best known for Man Down, a post-apocalyptic thriller which stars Shia LaBeouf, Kate Mara, and Gary Oldman.
To follow along with the production of War and Peace, follow Tiana Pongs and Alexandre Avancini on Instagram.
