Photophobia (Photophobia)

Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík

On a cold February morning, 12-year-old Niki and his family arrive at the Kharkiv metro station to take shelter from the terrifying war raging outside. For Niki's family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, and the boy is not allowed to leave the station premises, living under the constant glow of their neon lights. While aimlessly wandering around the abandoned cars and full platforms, Niki meets Vika (11), and a new world opens up to him. The directors juxtaposed the timeless, aimless life lived by Niki and his family with the chilling scenes playing out on ground level. The observations of a war-ravaged country might seem as the distant ideas of a traumatized child – if only the audience did not know that this was the reality of Ukraine nowadays.

Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine 2023, '71

DIRECTOR: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík

SCENARIO: Marek Leščák, Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík

CAMERA: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík

MONTAGE: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík, Martin Piga

MUSIC: Roman Kurhan, Michal Novinski

PRODUCERS: Ivan Ostrochovský, Albert Malinovský, Katarína Tomková, Tomáš Michálek, Kristýna Michálek Květová

PRODUCTION: Punkchart films, Cinémotif Films

FESTIVALS & AWARDS:

Warsaw IFF: Best Documentary Film (2023)

Jihlava IDFF: Best Documentary (2023)

Venice IFF (2023)

DOK Leipzig (2023)

Cin East (2023)

Riga IFF (2023)

Ivan Ostrochovský

Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík both debuted with their feature documentary Velvet Terrorists (2013), which they have co-directed with Peter Kerekes and which won the Tagesspiegel Readers’ Award at Berlinale's Forum.

Pavol's solo debut feature was hybrid Silent Days (2019), presented at the Karlovy Vary IFF's East of the West competition, while Ivan continued with the feature Koza (2015), returning to the Forum at the Berlinale once again. Ivan's second feature Servants (2020) was presented in a world premiere at the then newly established Berlinale competition Encounters. Ivan is the author and co-writer of 107 Mothers (2021), which won the Orizzonti Best Screenplay at Venice IFF, won the Arab Critics’ Award 2021 and received the European Film Award 2022 nomination for European Discovery.

They together co-created the hybrid Photophobia (2023), which premiered at Venice's Giornate degli Autori and received the Europa Cinemas Label award.

Pavol Pekarčík

Pavol Pekarčík (1972, Spišská Sobota) also studied at VŠMU, specifically under Dušan Hanák and Vlado Balco. He has collaborated with Ivan Ostrochovský on several films. His other works include several documentaries on mountain climbing, including Karakoram (2006) and Uli biaho (2007).

Photophobia (Photophobia)

Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pekarčík

Ivan Ostrochovský

Pavol Pekarčík

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