Viktor | Edmonton

Director: Olivier Sarbil

Genre: Documentary

Year: 2024

Duration: 89 min

Language: Ukrainian and Russian, with English subtitles

About the film: Viktor dreams of becoming a warrior, loves watching samurai films and is raised on stories of war. He repeatedly attempts to enlist in the Ukrainian armed forces and is denied because of his hearing condition. Eager to find purpose, Viktor embarks on a quest to find his place in the midst of a war that he cannot hear.

The film’s sound design, paired with the black-and-white imagery, provides an experience for the viewer that reflects Viktor’s. The personal and intimate story that unfolds resonates with veteran war cinematographer OlivierSarbil’s own experience with single-sided deafness and with the Russo-Ukrainian war.

About the director: Olivier Sarbil is a New York–based documentary director and two-time Emmy-winning cinematographer. Over the past two decades Sarbil has worked across the globe, documenting many of the most pressing global conflicts and social issues. Sarbil’s first feature, On Orders of the President (2018), provides a chilling portrait of the Philippine drug war, earning an Emmy nomination. Critics described the film as a “wholly cinematic sensory experience, with straight-ahead reportage, electrified by glaring streetlights and a panicked urban wall of sound.” From 2022 to 2024, Sarbil directed and filmed Viktor. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was selected for the prestigious Platform Prize programme.

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