Olivier Sarbil’s “Viktor,” Opening in Los Angeles October 3 is a war documentary unlike anyone else. The title is a deaf Ukrainian man who wants to work in his country’s armed forces in 2022 when Russia launches its full -scale invasion. But as he notes directly in the trailer for ”Viktor“Which IndieWire is proud to debut exclusively below,” the dear are allocated. Out of contact with the hearing world. “
Instead, he becomes a war photographer documenting UkraineStruggle. Sarbil, the director, wanted to tell a story about the deaf community in Ukraine and how it was about the war. The filmmaker was inspired by how he himself had dropped the hearing in one of his ears while doing a previous war documentary in “Libya.” Sarbil, which also acts as a cinematographer on “Viktor”, and shot the film in striking black and white monochrome, finally realized that Viktor should be his subject. It is an astonishing war film as a character study and is based on Sarbil’s previous War of Labor Documentaries For “Frontline”, including the 2017’s “Mosul.”
“Viktor” premiered in the platform episode in TIFF 2024 and has since played Hampton’s International Film Festival, Deauville and Camerimage, where it played in the documentary has the competition.
The film has many unique stylistic choices. Deaf, of course, feels vibration, so it has a healthy design that tries to replicate Viktor’s point of view, including being very vibration heavy.
By giving the movie a Rave “A” review from TIFF 2024, Indieview said: “One of the unexpected gemstones of this year’s party,” Viktor “is a (Darren Aronofsky-Produced) DOC from the multi-prize-winning director/DP OLIVIERS SARC, a glory car Jones (‘antidote’), a nail-biting investigation into the former Philippines-Starkman Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly ‘war on drugs’ through both its mostly abuse and chilly remeprier perpetrators.) But what does what does what does what does what does so. film So extraordinary is that the ongoing invasion is not in focus but only background for a window in a truly unique POV on the Russian attack. “
“Viktor” opens on October 3 at Cinelounge Hollywood in Los Angeles. Its opening weekend will contain Q & AS with Sarbil led by filmmakers Ondi Timons and Amy Berg.
