The main prize at the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Germany, was awarded to Ukrainian director Oleksii Radynskyi for his documentary Chornobyl 22.
The main prize at the 69th International Short Film Festival (Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen) was awarded to Ukrainian director Oleksii Radynskyi for his documentary Chornobyl 22. This is stated in the message of the international jury, released on the evening of Monday, May 1.
The film tells the story of Russian war crimes in the Chornobyl zone and tells the story of the occupation of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant through the mouths of its workers, who managed to save the power plant. The film uses footage shot on a mobile phone.
“It would have been very good if we did not have to make a film about the Russian occupation of Chornobyl and if this story had remained in the realm of science fiction,” notes director Oleksii Radynskyi.
The jury noted that the director is able to create tension in his portrayal of the Russian invasion and is good at combining different stories and possible future scenarios without excessive aestheticisation.
“Honest and open interviews make the film important not only for contemporaries but also for future generations. It is communicative and concise and will be able to reach a wide audience in different contexts and situations,” the jury members said.
The International Short Film Festival is one of the oldest and most important film screenings of its kind in the world. As a rule, the program has no genre restrictions, because, as the organizers emphasize, short films do not fit into the narrow confines of one genre and are usually the product of a mixture of several.
This year’s festival took place on April 26 – May 1. A total of 20 prizes worth over 43 thousand euros were awarded. The award ceremony took place at the Lichtburg Film House in Oberhausen.
