Viktor
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Viktor Korotovskyi rallied to join the military but was rejected due to his deafness. Instead, he became a war photographer. Join Viktor on the frontlines in this wholly immersive and terrifying documentary from producer Darren Aronofsky.
Attend the May 17 screening for a chance to win a book of stunning Ukrainian photography, courtesy of Ukraine Defense Support.
Sponsored by:
*Restricted to audiences in WA State.
"A piercing indictment of the ways we’ve made a spectacle of war." —Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com
Ferociously loud yet deeply silent, this new documentary from seasoned war photographer and multi-award-winning director Olivier Sarbil presents an artfully subjective character study of the titular Viktor, set against the beginning days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Young, Deaf, and struggling to find his place in the war efforts, Viktor longs to be a warrior, but his repeated attempts to enlist are denied because of his hearing loss. Living with his mother in Kharkiv, Viktor eventually convinces the local army to let him volunteer as a photographer.
The sound design team behind the Oscar®-winning Sound of Metal once again creates subjectivity through soundtrack, giving the audience fascinating aural glimpses into Viktor’s acoustic landscape. The black and white footage lends an immersive, artistic, theatrical spin to the documentary, as visual language and soundscape grammar indirectly evolve through the relationship between director and subject. (The two share many unique similarities: hearing loss, black and white photojournalism, compositional cinematography.)
Darren Aronofsky produces this layered reflection on the brutalities of war, on the resilience of the human spirit in a world thrust into chaos and violence.
—Emily Sawan
- Director: Olivier Sarbil
- Country: Denmark, Ukraine, France, USA
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 89 min.
- Producer: Olivier Sarbil, Darren Aronofsky, Dylan Golden, Brendan Naylor, Sigrid Dyekjær, Philippe Levasseur
- Screenplay: Olivier Sarbil
- Cinematographers: Olivier Sarbil
- Editors: Atanas Georgiev
- Music: Peter Albrechtsen (Sound Designer)
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Hamptons International Film Festival 2024 (Best Documentary Feature)
- Filmography: On The President's Orders (2019)
- Language: Russian, Russian Sign Language, Ukrainian
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- Format: DCP
- International Sales: Cinephil