Two Ukrainian Films Honoured at the Warsaw Film Festival
The films "Diagnosis: Dissent" and "Photophobia" have received awards at the 39th Warsaw International Film Festival, which took place from October 5 to 15 and is the largest film festival in Eastern Europe this year.
This information was announced by the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
The Slovak-Czech-Ukrainian film "Photophobia," directed by Ivan Ostrakhovskiy and Pavol Pekarchik, received the award for the Best Full-Length Documentary.
The film tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Niki, who, along with his family, lives at a Kharkiv metro station, hiding from the devastating war outside. For Niki's family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, so he is not allowed to venture outside. Aimlessly wandering through abandoned carriages and crowded platforms, Niki encounters an 11-year-old girl named Vika, revealing a new world before him. As their connection strengthens, the children find the courage to feel the sun on their faces once more.
Meanwhile, the debut film "Diagnosis: Dissent" by Denis Tarasov received a special mention in the competition program for first and second full-length works by young directors (Competition 1-2).
"Diagnosis: Dissent" narrates the story of a young man who lived in the USSR in the 1970s and was forcibly placed in a psychiatric hospital due to his love for Western rock music, which was forbidden at the time. He faces a challenging choice: collaborate with the KGB and return to his family, or reveal the truth about dissidents confined in psychiatric institutions.
The character of Andriy Dovzhenko, portrayed by actor Kostiantyn Temlyak, is a composite image of a free-spirited individual trapped by the KGB due to his open defiance of the absurd rules of the communist regime.
In total, nine Ukrainian films were presented at this year's Warsaw Film Festival, including "House Behind the Glass" by director Taras Dron (international competition) and "Iron Butterflies" by Roman Liubovyi (documentary film competition).
The Warsaw International Film Festival was founded in 1985.
As previously reported by The Gaze, the film "Photophobia," which depicts a Ukrainian family hiding in the metro from Russian shelling, has been nominated by Slovakia for the 96th Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars.