DYSTOPIAN FUTUR BECOMES REALITY
Eastern Ukraine, 2025. A desert unsuitable for human habitation. Water is a dear commodity brought by trucks. A Wall is being build-up on the border. Sergiy, a former soldier, is having trouble adapting to his new reality. He meets Katya while on the Black Tulip mission dedicated to exhuming war corpses.Together, they try to return to some sort of normal life in which they are also allowed to fall in love again.
Director
Valentyn Vasyanovych is a Ukrainian director, producer and DoP. He was born in 1971 in Zhytomyr, Ukraine and graduated from The National University of theatre, cinema and television of Karpenko-Kary as cinematographer (1995) and documentary filmmaker (2000), as well as from The Wajda School in Poland (2007).
In 2004, he gained recognition as a documentary filmmaker - his documentary AGAINST THE SUN (2004) received the Jury Prize at Clermont-Ferrand IFF, the Grand Prix at Nancy FF, mention of the jury at the Toronto IFF and several other awards.
His full-length documentary PRYSMERK (2015) was awarded Special Mention at Docudays FF in Kiev and received the Golden Duke as the best Ukrainian film at Odesa IFF in 2015.
In 2012, he made his debut feature BUSINESS AS USUAL (Odessa IFF, Special Jury Mention, FICC award).
His second feature film KREDENS was awarded a prize by Odesa's FIPRESCI Jury.
In 2014, Valentyn Vasyanovych worked as a producer and DoP on Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy's THE TRIBE, which became the biggest international success of Ukrainian film, winning the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics week and more than 40 other prizes around the globe.
His 2017 feature, BLACK LEVEL, won the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Ukrainian Feature at the Odessa International Film Festival.
ATLANTIS (2019) won Best Film in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival.
In 2004, he gained recognition as a documentary filmmaker - his documentary AGAINST THE SUN (2004) received the Jury Prize at Clermont-Ferrand IFF, the Grand Prix at Nancy FF, mention of the jury at the Toronto IFF and several other awards.
His full-length documentary PRYSMERK (2015) was awarded Special Mention at Docudays FF in Kiev and received the Golden Duke as the best Ukrainian film at Odesa IFF in 2015.
In 2012, he made his debut feature BUSINESS AS USUAL (Odessa IFF, Special Jury Mention, FICC award).
His second feature film KREDENS was awarded a prize by Odesa's FIPRESCI Jury.
In 2014, Valentyn Vasyanovych worked as a producer and DoP on Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy's THE TRIBE, which became the biggest international success of Ukrainian film, winning the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics week and more than 40 other prizes around the globe.
His 2017 feature, BLACK LEVEL, won the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Ukrainian Feature at the Odessa International Film Festival.
ATLANTIS (2019) won Best Film in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival.
Cast & crew
CAST
Andriy Rymaruk
Liudmyla Bileka
Vasyl Antoniak
PRODUCERS
Iya Myslytska
Valentyn Vasyanovych
Vladimir Yatsenko (Homeward)
DOP
Valentyn Vasyanovych
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Vladlen Odudenko
SOUND DESIGN
Serhiy Stepansky
Festivals and awards
- VENICE ORIZZONTI (AWARD FOR BEST FILM)
- TORONTO IFF
- HAMBURG IFF
- WARSAW IFF
- VIENNALE
- TOKYO IFF (SPECIAL JURY PRIZE)
- THESSALONIKI IFF
- MINSK IFF (GRAND PRIX, GOLDEN LISTAPAD FOR BEST FILM)
- GOLDEN HORSES IFF
- CORK IFF
- SEVILLE EUROPEAN FF
- TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS
- LES ARCS FF (CRISTAL ARROW AWARD)
- LUXEMBOURG CITY IFF
- GLASGOW IFF
- FICUNAM (BEST FILM AWARD)
- VILNIUS IFF
- NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS
- BARCELONA D'A
- INDIE BO
- TRANSILVANIA IFF
- PERTH REVELATION
- MELBOURNE IFF
- ESPOO CINE
- SPLIT FF (GRAND PRIX AWARD)
- FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINEMA (LOUVE D'OR - BEST FILM AWARD)
- BERGEN IFF
- ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL (GOLDEN TULIP AWARD + FIPRESCI AWARD)
- DENVER IFF (BEST FEATURE FILM)
- NEW HORIZONS IFF
- EAST BY SOUTHEAST
- JERUSALEM IFF (BEST FILM AWARD)
“One of the most jaw-dropping shots of the year… absolutely deserving of the biggest canvas possible — it’s a world you want to live in.”
“Dazzling, strange, tragic, comic,
touching and eventually optimistic.
Immensely compelling. Masterful.”
touching and eventually optimistic.
Immensely compelling. Masterful.”
“Vasyanovych’s style is informed
by both Kubrick and early
Jim Jarmusch.”
by both Kubrick and early
Jim Jarmusch.”
“A strong piece of
poetically pure Cinema.”
poetically pure Cinema.”
“Atlantis is stunning
to watch.”
to watch.”
