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Ukrainian Director Valentyn Vasyanovych Wins TIFF Platform Award With Dystopian Film "For Victory"
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukrainian filmmaker Valentyn Vasyanovych’s new feature For Victory! has triumphed in the Platform competition of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, marking a historic first for Ukraine.
The festival’s official website confirmed the announcement, noting that this year’s Platform lineup included films from 19 countries. For Victory! became the first Ukrainian film ever selected for this prestigious section. The award, the Platform Award, comes with a prize of about $14,600.
Set in Ukraine’s post-war future, the film tells the story of Roman, a young director who dreams of returning to filmmaking. He lives in Kyiv with his 18-year-old son, while his wife and young daughter remain in Vienna—the city they fled to at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
As Roman searches for meaning in his life, he struggles to preserve faith in a brighter future amid disillusionment, corruption, and the rise of a populist government. Vasyanovych himself plays the lead role, bringing his own vision and voice directly into the film.
Valentyn Vasyanovych is known internationally as the director of Atlantis, Black Level, and the documentary Twilight, as well as the cinematographer for Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi’s acclaimed The Tribe. His 2019 film Atlantis won the Horizons competition at the Venice Film Festival and was chosen as Ukraine’s submission to the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
Earlier, at the Venice Film Festival, director Benny Safdie unveiled his latest film The Smashing Machine, with Ukrainian boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk playing one of the key roles. The world premiere was greeted with a 15-minute standing ovation.
