12/09/2023 - VENICE 2023: Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík look at the war in Ukraine from underground subway tunnels, through the eyes of two children, and in search of positive attitudes

“Will the children remember all this? – A positive attitude can help you forget everything”. It’s been two months since 12-year-old Nikita has seen the light of day. One February morning, he and his family (his father, mother and little sister) descended into the subway tunnels of Kharkiv, the second most populated city in Ukraine after the capital Kiev, to shelter from Russian bombs, and he hasn’t re-emerged since. It’s now springtime in 2022 and there are 1,500 other people underground with him: women, men, young people, elderly people, even cats and dogs, all encamped as best they can manage in the station’s various areas. In the midst of all these people is a little girl with funny, touch-responsive bunny ears: her name is Vika and she will turn out to be a lifesaving source of positive feelings for Nikita in Photophobia [+see also:
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pe…
film profile], the new film by the Slovakian filmmaking duo Ivan Ostrochovský (Koza [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský
film profile], Servants [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský
film profile]) and Pavol Pekarčík (Silent Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pavol Pekarčík
film profile]), who previously joined forces to make the documentary Velvet Terrorists [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] in 2013.

Presented as a Special Event in the 20th Giornate degli Autori line-up - unfolding within the 80th Venice Film Festival - and awarded the Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film in the section, this fiction-documentary hybrid looks at the war in Ukraine from the bottom up, through the eyes of two children in search of a ray of light. At the beginning of the film, we see our small protagonist (Nikita Tyshchenko) speaking with a female doctor about his trauma. His skin is dehydrated and he’s showing signs of lethargy. What he needs is a bit of fresh air and sunlight. But stepping outside, above ground, isn’t an option; it’s too risky, as his mother, who’s in contact with people on the outside via her mobile, categorically informs him. When Nikita meets Vika (Viktoriia Mats), the now disused subway carriages and tracks become their play park, and an old man who plays the guitar (Vitaly Pavlovitch) sets about offering him advice on love.

A number of slides which the children look at through a viewer and which turn into Super 8 footage for the audience, are used by the directors to show us what’s going on above ground. We see shots of individuals in their everyday lives, in front of ruins and columns of smoke, calm and resilient. It’s an approach which continues throughout the film, which doesn’t offer up a real plot over the course of its 71-minute runtime. Instead, and without overindulging in pathos, it captures the human condition of a people who were forced to leave everything behind, from one day to the next. Ostrochovský and Pekarčík choose the path of hope rather than despondency to depict the tragedy of war: a nice man sings lyrics about love, while two children look towards the sky and their future.

Photophobia is produced by Punchart Films (Slovakia) and Cinémotif Films (Czech Republic), in co-production with Radio e Televisione Slovacca, Arthouse Traffic (Ukraine), Televisione Ceca and Partizanfilm (Slovakia). The film is yet to appoint an international sales agent, but thanks to the afore-mentioned award, it will receive promotional support from Europa Cinemas and movie theatres within this network will be given financial incentives to include it in their programming.

(Translated from Italian)

Photogallery 01/09/2023: Venice 2023 - Photophobia

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Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík
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