A war documentary tackling a different side of the conflict in the Ukraine, veteran war photographer Olivier Sarbil directs Viktor with a knowing eye. Starting one day before the first day of the conflict and running through the first year, Sarbil introduces us to Viktor Korotovskyi, a deaf Ukrainian citizen desperate to fulfil his duty.
Living at home with his mother in Kharkiv, Viktor grew up, under the eye of his late father, with delusions of grandeur. Enraptured by old Chinese cinema and Samurai culture, even having katanas of his own he often practises with, Viktor just wants to help his country. Having lost the majority of his hearing at 5 years old, Viktor’s communication skills are severely hampered, which excludes him from fighting. But its through another passion that Viktor finds a way in, his photography. Eventually his hard work pays off in the form of him becoming an official press photographer, working near the front lines.
With the director himself suffering from some hearing loss, and the sound design team behind the Oscar winning Sound Of Metal, Viktor delivers its audience into a whole world of auditory deprivation, utilising many tricks to bring the audience into Viktor’s world. The film also examines the nature of the relationship between war and people’s desperate need to volunteer in service to one’s country, and the lengths people will go. Viktor proves to be a fascinating watch in not just its main subject, but everything else he captures in his lens too.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Documentary, War
- Release Date: 7/8/2024
- Directed by: Olivier Sarbil
- Starring: Viktor Korotovskyi
- Produced by: Brendan Naylor, Darren Aronofsky, Dylan Golden, Olivier Sarbil
- Studio: Impact Partners, Newen Studios, Protozoa Pictures, Real Lava
