Reflection () is a Ukrainian drama film directed by Valentyn Vasyanovych. Its world premiere took place on 6 September 2021Vidblysk (Reflection). 6 September 2021 at 19:30 at Sala Darsena. labiennale.org/en/. 6 September 2021 at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Golden Lion. It was scheduled to have a wide theatrical release in Ukraine in 2022.
Plot The film centers on Serhiy, a Ukrainian military surgeon who is captured by the Russian military forces in 2014, during one of the battles at the Russo-Ukrainian War in Eastern Ukraine. During his time as the prisoner of war, Serhiy witnesses terrifying scenes of torture, rape and various other examples of dehumanizing behaviour towards POWs. Soon after, as a part of a prison swap between Russia and Ukraine, Serhiy gets released from captivity and returns to his pre-war normal day-to-day life only to discover that the horrors that he witnessed as a prisoner are still haunting him. To help fight his post-war PTSD, Serhiy decides to try and fix his relationships with his ex-wife and his estranged 12-year-old daughter Polina, who is suffering from a recent loss of a loved one in the war. As Serhiy spends more time with Polina and tries to help her move on from her loss, he gradually starts to confront his own post-traumatic fears and anxieties.Reflection. dzygamdb.com/uk/. 2021 (in Ukrainian)
Production crew
Director: Valentyn Vasyanovych Writer: Valentyn Vasyanovych Cinematographer: Valentyn Vasyanovych Editor: Valentyn Vasyanovych Producers: Valentyn Vasyanovych, Iya Myslyts'ka, Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Sobolevska Production designer: Vladlen Odudenko Sound director: Serhiy Stepanksyi Costume designer: Olena Hermanenko Make-up: Hanna Lukashenko Camera man: Yuriy Dunay Casting: Tetiana Symon
Cast as Serhiy Nika Myslyts'ka as Polina Nadiya Levchenko as Olha Andriy Rymaruk as Andriy Oleksandr Danyliuk as Surgeon Andrii Senchuk as Psychologist Ihor Shulha as Chief of the Prison Dmytro Sova as tortured Ukrainian prisoner Stanislav Aseyev as Russian FSB officer
Budget Film project Reflection won during the 11th pitching of Ukrainian State Film Agency; ₴25 million of state funding was awarded, which represents 80% of the total budget of ₴31.3 million (€1 million).Чорнобиль, Гамлет і підліткові труднощі. П'ятий день 11-го пітчингу Держкіно. detector.media. 29 липня 2019 (in Ukrainian)Названо переможців 11-го пітчингу Держкіно (ПОВНИЙ ПЕРЕЛІК). detector.media. 8 серпня 2019 (in Ukrainian)Заявка на участь у конкурсному відборі (пітчингу): Відблиск. dergkino.gov.ua. 2019 (in Ukrainian)
Production Reflection was produced by Valentyn Vasyanovych and Iya Myslyts'ka (Harmata Films/Arsenal Films) as well as Volodymyr Yatsenko and Anna Sobolevska (Limelite/ForeFilms). Pre-production prepeartions for the movie took place in May 2020.«Точка нуль», «Відблиск», «Їх було двоє» і «Вовченята». Новини контенту. mbr.com.ua/uk/. 22 травня 2020 Filming began in early summer of 2020 and ended in January 2021. In July 2021 film producers announced that they are already finishing the post-production and starting editing the film.Кінозал: Тріумф фільму «Атлантида» й робота над новою стрічкою «Відблиск» — Валентин Васянович. UA: Українське радіо. 2 липня 2021 (mp3) (in Ukrainian)
Unlike Vasyanovych's previous feature film, Atlantis (2019) where most of the actors were the actual veterans of Russo-Ukrainian War, in Reflection most of the actors involved were professional.Valentyn Vasyanovych. Of love and war. daily2021.venezianews.it/en/. 6 September 2021Венеція: українське вторгнення. Наш кінематограф буде представлений на безпрецедентному рівні на найстарішому кінофестивалі світу. day.kyiv.ua/uk/. 2021 (in Ukrainian)Режисер «Атлантиди» Валентин Васянович: «Мій фільм треба дивитися на великому екрані». lb.ua. 3 грудня 2020 (in Ukrainian) However, to ensure a realistic depiction of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Vasyanovych heavily relied on military consultants, who have gone through Russo-Ukrainian War; one of the better known of the film's consultants was Stanislav Aseyev, who himself spent more than two years as political prisoner in the Donetsk People's Republic's notorious Izolyatsia prison in 2017–2019.«Війна — найпотужніша тема». Васянович пояснив, чому вирішив присвятити свій новий фільм конфлікту на Донбасі. nv.ua/ukr/. 27 липня 2021 (in Ukrainian)
The film is shot in Vasyanovych's trademark series of static, single-frame shots; according to Variety's experts “Reflection” consists of 29 static shots.Ukrainian Director Valentyn Vasyanovych on Venice Competition Entry ‘Reflection’. variety.com. Sep 6, 2021
Marketing Promotion On August 27, 2021, the film's international distributor New Europe Film Sales unveiled the first international poster for the movie.We are thrilled to unveil the artwork of REFLECTION by Valentyn Vasyanovych. World premiere: 7 September 2021. #BiennaleCinema2021. New Europe Film Sales's official Facebook page. 27 August 2021
On September 5, 2021, a day before its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, the film's international distributor New Europe Film Sales released the first international trailer via the industry magazine ScreenDaily;Перший офіційний міжнародний трейлер фільму «Відблиск» (2021). youtube.com. 5 September 2021‘Reflection’: first trailer for Valentyn Vasyanovych's Venice Competition title (exclusive). screendaily.com. 5 September 2021Дивіться перший трейлер фільму «Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича. the-village.com.ua. 5 вересня 2021 (In Ukrainian) commenting on the trailer's release, the Spanish industry publication Cinemaldito noted that the film's director Vasyanovych was perhaps one the least prominent names in the entire Official Section of the 78th Venice International Film Festival.Trailer para Reflection de Valentyn Vasyanovych. cinemaldito.com. September 6, 2021 (in Spanish) The Turkish industry publication Filmloverss noted that after winning the main prize - the Golden Tulip - in 2020 at the 39th Istanbul Film Festival, Vasyanovych had been absent from the film festivals for nearly two years, but had now returned to the big screen with a promising new entry Reflection. However, the publication stated that it was unclear from the trailer whether Reflection had enough to win the 78th Golden Lion in Venice.Atlantis’in Yönetmeni Valentyn Vasyanovych’in Reflection Filminden İlk Fragman Yayınlandı. filmloverss.com. 6 September 2021 (in Turkish)
Release
Film Festival release In January 2020, Reflection won the Alphapanda Audience Engagement Award at Les Arcs’ Works in Progress 2020.Venice 2021 preview: Screen's guide to the Competition titles. screendaily.com. 27 August 2021 Later, in January–February 2020, Reflection was presented at the co-production film market at Berlinale Film Festival.«Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича відібрали до копродукційного маркету в рамках «Берлінале». detector.media. 20 лютого 2020 (In Ukrainian)«Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича відібрали до проєктів Berlinale Co-production Market. telekritika.ua/uk/. 20 February 2020 (In Ukrainian)Berlinale Co-Production Market Brings 36 International Feature Film Projects Into Play. berlinale.de/en/. 15 січня 2020
In early July 2021, it was announced that film distribution company New Europe Film Sales picked up international distribution rights for Reflection.Європейський дистриб'ютор придбав права на «Відблиск» Васяновича.m detector.media. 9 липня 2021Reflection / Відблиск (2021). neweuropefilmsales.com. 2021 That same month, in July 2021, it was also announced that film distribution company Arthouse Traffic picked up Ukrainian distribution rights.
In late July 2021, one of film's producers, Volodymyr Yatsenko, stated that there was a competition taking place between the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival for the right to be the venue of Reflection's world premiere;«Наша мета – створити бренд українського кіна». Розмова з Володимиром Яценком про щастя і прокляття професії кінопродюсера. day.kyiv.ua/uk/. 23 липня 2021 (in Ukrainian) ultimately the latter won and consequently film's world premiere took place on 6 September 2021 at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Golden Lion.Venezia 78 Competition 2021. labiennale.org/en/. 2021Vidblysk / Reflection (2021). labiennale.org/en/. 2021Світові прем'єри нових фільмів Валентина Васяновича та Олега Сенцова відбудуться на Венеційському кінофестивалі. usfa.gov.ua. 26 July 2021 (in Ukrainian)Ганна Мамонова. «Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича бере участь у конкурсній програмі Венеційського фестивалю. suspilne.media. 26 липня 2021
In October, the film was presented at 50th Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma as a part of the Incontournables section.
Theatrical release The film was set to have a wide theatrical release in Ukraine in 2022 through its Ukrainian distributor, Arthouse Traffic.
Reception The film was released in September 2021 to generally favorable rievews from film critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 4 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". At film's world premiere at Venice the film received ten-minute standing ovation.Наше завдання – розповісти світу про катування в Європі, у Донецьку – режисер «Відблиску» Васянович. radiosvoboda.org. 8 September 2021 (in Ukrainian)War drama "Reflection" causes a 10-minute standing ovation in Venice. fostylen.com/en/. 09.09.2021