Viktor

A daring documentary from veteran war photographer Olivier Sarbil, offering an intimate and deeply personal portrayal of a Deaf person’s experience amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Blending rigorous reportage with an innovative cinematic approach, the film crafts an immersive audiovisual experience that mirrors its subject’s world, allowing the audience to feel the chaos and violence through Viktor’s perspective.

Viktor, who lost his hearing at the age of five, lives with his mother in Kharkiv. A gifted photographer, he captures the world around him in striking black-and-white images, heavily influenced by his late father’s teachings on “the military spirit” and Miyamoto Musashi’s The Strategy of the Samurai. Despite his disability preventing him from finding work, Viktor’s strong sense of duty leads him to volunteer with the local army as a photographer when war breaks out. In this role, he documents the raw humanity of both civilians and soldiers caught in the conflict, offering a unique and poignant perspective on the devastation.

Director Olivier Sarbil, who himself suffered a hearing injury, collaborates with the Oscar-winning sound design team behind Sound of Metal to authentically replicate Viktor’s aural experience. Through clever sound design, the film encapsulates the muffled sounds and the silence Viktor navigates daily—challenging viewers to understand that silence is not emptiness, but a space filled with self-awareness. Viktor is not a film of pity, but a powerful testament to resilience and the human spirit in the face of war.