Valentyn Vasyanovych (born 21 July 1971) is a Ukrainian film director. He is best known for his two films on

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

following armed conflict, ''

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

'' (2019), and ''

Reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to: Science and technology * Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon ** Specular reflection, reflection from a smooth surface *** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water ** Signal reflection, in ...

'' (2021).

Films

Vasyanovych's first film was a documentary short titled ''Keepsake'', focused on his own family. He created it while

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

with other artists in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in an abandoned building. His first feature film, ''Business as Usual'' (''Zvychayna sprava''), was released in 2012. His 2017 film ''

Black Level Video black level is defined as the level of brightness at the darkest (black) part of a visual image or the level of brightness at which no light is emitted from a screen, resulting in a pure black screen. Video displays generally need to be cal ...

'' was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...

, but it did not make it to the December shortlist. The film tells the story of a wedding photographer who suffers a

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle age, middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a pe ...

after losing his sick father and breaking up with his girlfriend. His 2019 film ''

'' portrayed the trauma of soldiers and civilians in the aftermath of a near-future war between Ukraine and Russia. It won in the Orizzonti section of the

76th Venice International Film Festival The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019. Film director Lucrecia Martel was appointed as the President of the Jury. ''The Truth'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, was selected to open the fest ...

; it was also selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

, but it did not make it to the December shortlist. The film was a critical success, with an approval rating of 97% on the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

(based on 35 reviews). The film drew a new wave of attention when the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

sharply escalated shortly after the film's release with the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. In September 2021, his film ''

'' was shown in the main competition section of the

78th Venice International Film Festival The 78th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho was appointed as the President of the Jury, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked as the festiv ...

. The film tells the story of a Ukrainian soldier tortured by Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine, who must find a way to readjust to civilian life after his release. It was picked up for distribution by the Polish distributor New Europe Film Sales. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' describes Vasyanovych's directorial "trademark" as a "series of static, single-frame shots". By the magazine's count, his film ''Atlantis'' consisted of only 28 static shots, while ''Reflection'' contained 29.

Personal life

As a child, Vasyanovych studied

classical piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

to follow in the footsteps of his father, a composer and conductor. However, he had little interest in the subject and felt more drawn to

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, another art in which his father tutored him. In 2007, he graduated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

's Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. In March 2022, Vasyanovych called for a cultural boycott of Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasyanovych, Valentyn Living people 1971 births Place of birth missing (living people) Ukrainian film directors Laureates of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize