Ukrainian Documentary "Silent Flood" Wins Top Cinematography Award at IDFA
Dmytro Sukholitky-Sobchuk's documentary film “The Silent Flood” won the prestigious award for best cinematography at the IDFA international documentary film festival.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to the Ukrainian State Film Agency and Zahid.net.
The world premiere of "The Silent Flood" took place on November 16 in the main competition of IDFA, the world's most prestigious documentary film festival. This year, only 12 films were selected for the program, each of which is distinguished by a strong artistic concept and an innovative approach.
The international jury noted not only the technical skill of the cinematographers, but also the integrity of their visual vision. Despite the fact that four cinematographers worked on the film, "The Silent Flood" impresses with its unity of style.
The judges emphasized that the beauty of the images enhances the charm of the land and the unique religious community.
“The jury was impressed by the beauty of the images, which emphasize the beauty of the land, its nature, and its inhabitants. Despite the fact that the film was shot by four cinematographers, it still retained an amazing integrity, where each frame is a separate canvas,” the jury noted when presenting the award to the Ukrainian team.
The film's plot immerses viewers in the life of a closed religious community living on the banks of the Dniester, a river in southwestern Ukraine, that preserves a traditional way of life: without electricity, with homemade bread, evenings by candlelight, and a deep respect for nature. Their world is constantly tested by regular floods that destroy the riverbank and force the community to rebuild their space again and again.
Over time, these challenges are compounded by a full-scale war that becomes a new dangerous “flood,” this time a human one.
The film draws subtle parallels between two elements — nature and war. Floods and war are presented as events that shape the collective memory of the community, strengthen its resilience, and influence its identity.
The community not only lives in harmony with nature, but also actively responds to the challenges of the times — in particular, it supports the Ukrainian military by sending its bread to the front. In this way, the director shows the intersection of two worlds — peaceful and war-torn — and the fine line on which his characters stand.
The film has received high praise from European critics. Screen Daily called it “a lyrical portrait of a religious community and a new perspective on the war in Ukraine,” which does not shy away from difficult topics but presents them delicately, through atmosphere and visual imagery. Variety noted the film's “visual poetry” and the extraordinary integrity of the cinematography. IDA critics emphasized the “rare purity of observation” and the absence of sensationalism, even in the depiction of traumatic experiences.
In his award acceptance speech, director Dmytro Sukholitkyi-Sobchuk recalled Russia's war against Ukraine.
"This film is primarily about scale. The scale of time, the scale of landscape. Another scale I want to mention is how our country is fighting now,“ he said. ”If in 2022 the Russians launched 1,100 drones against Ukraine, in 2024 it was already 10,882, and this year it was almost 50,000 drones. Most of the territories in eastern Ukraine that you saw in the footage are already occupied by the Russians."
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), founded in 1988, is one of the world's most influential platforms for documentary filmmaking. Every year, it brings together hundreds of directors, producers, and industry professionals in Amsterdam to present the most powerful documentary films and new media projects. In addition to the festival, IDFA operates as a year-round institute with talent development programs, educational initiatives, a co-production market, and a support fund that helps filmmakers from around the world realize socially significant documentary projects.
As The Gaze reported earlier, the Ukrainian short film “She” about female defenders and combat medics won the Best Short Film award at the Women and the World International Film Festival in London.
Read more on The Gaze: Ukrainian Cinema: 9 Must-Watch Films That Define a Nation’s Spirit