“An up close and personal, highly stylized excursion. (Grade A)”

— Indiewire / Lauren Wissot

“A truly singular experience worthy of its adulation.”

— Roger Ebert / Zachary Lee

“A true triumph of non-fiction filmmaking.”

— POV Magazine / Jason Gorber

“A deaf photographer’s inner world redefines war cinema.”

— Modern Times Review / Sonya Vseliubska

Viktor, a young deaf man in Kharkiv, watches warily during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A fan of samurai films and raised on stories of war, he dreams of becoming a warrior but is repeatedly denied when he tries to enlist. Eager to find purpose, Viktor embarks on a quest to find his place in the midst of a war he cannot hear. The film premiered at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and was featured in the prestigious Platform Prize programme.

REVIEWS

LINKS

Filmmaker Magazine: Olivier Sarbil on His TIFF-premiering doc Viktor

IndieWire: TIFF 2024: 90 Cinematographers Explain How They Shot Their Features

AWARDS

Won:

• Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Feature — Hamptons International Film Festival

• Best Portrait Prize — International Festival of Films on Art

• Best Sound in Feature Documentary — Social Impact Media Awards

• Jury Award, Documentary Feature — Charlotte International Film Festival

• Alpha Bank Accessibility Award — Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival

Nominated:

• Platform Prize — Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)

• Golden Frog, Feature Documentary Films Competition — Camerimage

• Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography — Cinema Eye Honors Award

• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design — Cinema Eye Honors Award

• Best Sound Editing, Feature Documentary — MPSE Golden Reel Awards

• Best International Documentary — DOCVILLE

• Audience Award — Visions du Réel

• George Gund III Memorial Central & Eastern European Award — Cleveland International Film Festival

• Filmmaker Award — Margaret Mead Film Festival

CREDITS

Director: Olivier Sarbil

Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Dylan Golden, Brendan Naylor, Sigrid Dyekjær, Olivier Sarbil

Cinematography: Olivier Sarbil

Editing: Atanas Georgiev

Sound: Peter Albrechtsen, Nicolas Becker, Heikki Kossi

Original Score: DISASTERPEACE

Executive Producers: Ari Handel, Romain Bessi, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfus, Mike Beck, Loren Hammonds, Mariia Antypenko, Ilya Kaminsky, Lani Levine

Production Companies: Protozoa Pictures, Time Studios, Real Lava, Impact Partners

In Conversation: Darren Aronofsky & Olivier Sarbil on VIKTOR.