The film "La Palisiada" will represent Ukraine at the 97th Academy Awards, according to the Ukrainian Oscar Committee.
Other contenders included Taras Tomenko's "House Slovo" Lyubomyr Levytsky's "We Were Recruits," and Oksana Karpovych's "Intercepted."
About the Film
This is the feature debut of director Philip Sotnychenko in the post-Soviet noir genre. The events unfold in Ukraine in 1996, five months before the signing of Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which abolished the death penalty.
The plot centers on two friends, a police detective and a forensic psychiatrist, who investigate the murder of their colleague. Previously, the detective and the psychiatrist were in love with the widow of the deceased. “Immersed in a convoluted case and long-forgotten memories, they create a future for their children, inheriting their parents' unfulfilled aspirations,” describe the film's creators.
According to the director, the events depicted in the film do not claim historical accuracy but show a stylization of the 80s and 90s through familiar imagery, such as fur hats and plaid tracksuits.
The world premiere of Philip Sotnychenko's "La Palisiada" took place mainly at the 52nd Rotterdam Film Festival. Later, the film won awards at the Vilnius Film Festival and the Polish Ukraina Festiwal Filmowy, and also became a laureate of the film critics' award Kinokolo.
Director Philip Sotnychenko received the "Heart of Sarajevo" for Best Director at the Sarajevo International Film Festival, and cinematographer Volodymyr Usyk was recognized for his work at the Ukraina Festiwal Filmowy in Warsaw.
