Ukrainian filmmaker Pavlo Ostrikov has unveiled his feature-length debut, U Are the Universe [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pavlo Ostrikov
scheda film], in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival. It tells the story of the last man on Earth, stranded in space. Cineuropa sat down with the helmer to discuss his debut, blending sci-fi with an emotional love story, his preference for practical effects over digital ones, and the challenges of making movies in war-torn Ukraine.

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Cineuropa: U Are the Universe, which originated from a play you wrote, explores the idea of being the last human in the universe. What drew you to this concept of isolation?
Pavlo Ostrikov: I’ve always felt a deep loneliness, and space, for me, is the perfect setting for that. The idea first struck me at university while studying Law. I wondered, “What if the Earth exploded and someone was left alone in space?” That thought mirrored my own isolation after moving to Kyiv. The play, developed in 2011, was a goofy, 15-minute parody, but as I read more about space and astrophysics, the idea evolved. I added elements like message delays to show the distance between characters. What started out as pure comedy gradually shifted towards drama, albeit with some humour. The biggest change was grounding the story in astrophysics and making the relationship with Catherine the emotional core. Love, whether romantic or deep friendship, was always central – that was the hardest decision, shaping the tone of their relationship.

You reference the "dirty space" aesthetic. What inspired this approach?
The first film that really inspired me was Alien because it showed this gritty, lived-in space where spaceship workers are just doing their jobs – it blew my mind to think that space could be as mundane as Earth. When we imagine the future, we tend to picture something bright and idealistic, a utopia. But the future can be boring, imperfect and even uninteresting. The main character, Andriy, is a rough, shabby man, not particularly kind or gentle, and I wanted that reflected in the interior of the spaceship. In a way, the ship is an extension of Andriy himself.

U Are the Universe blends genres, from science fiction to romance. How did you strike the balance between these elements?
Sci-fi is really just a backdrop for the love story. I didn’t set out to choose the genre – I just knew I wanted the story to take place in space. I played with the genre a bit, adding elements like AI – a robot – because many films about space, like Interstellar [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], have done such great things with artificial intelligence. But at the core, it’s still a love story. As for finding the right balance, that was more a matter of intuition. I knew we needed to show some dangers in space and bring in a bit of tension, but also to mix it with simple, everyday conversations about ordinary topics. I didn’t overthink it; I just felt it.

With U Are the Universe set on a spaceship, special effects play a crucial role. Can you talk about the blend of practical and digital effects?
We used some practical effects in the spaceship’s interior, but it’s a real tragedy that our practical effects specialist, Alexander Suvorov, passed away in the war. It’s an enormous loss for Ukrainian cinema – he did such brilliant work on this project. Regarding the spaceship itself, we collaborated with a Ukrainian company, Magic Room. Budget constraints were a challenge, and we had a small crew to work with, but we made it happen. But if I had the choice, I’d definitely lean towards using more practical effects in future films, rather than digital.

How was it making the film amidst an ongoing war?
Making films in Ukraine right now is incredibly difficult. We face constant power outages owing to Russian attacks on our infrastructure, which isn’t just a logistical issue; it’s a matter of safety. While the Ukrainian crew understood the risks, we couldn’t bring a French actress for the final scenes, because she didn’t feel safe. So, we used a Ukrainian actress and had a Belgian one provide the voice, combining two actresses into one character. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the only option.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Ukrainian cinema, especially sci-fi. You likely won’t see any in the next five to ten years. We were lucky to finish most of the film before the invasion, but now it’s much harder. We’re still making movies, mostly documentaries, but we long to do more fiction. We’re not just defending our country; we’re defending our culture. The hardest part is that many filmmakers have become soldiers. Right now, it’s about survival, and I just hope that when the war is over, those filmmakers will still be here to tell our stories.