The science fiction drama 'You Are the Cosmos' by director Pavel Ostrikov holds a significant place in Ukrainian cinema, continuing to attract a wide audience.
According to the State Agency of Ukraine for Film, over the course of four weekends, the film earned 48.1 million UAH with a total audience reaching 262,807.
This project was supported by the State Agency of Ukraine for Film in collaboration with the Belgian company ForeFilms. The central character, a Ukrainian space trucker named Andriy, becomes the last human in the universe after the Earth's catastrophe, but his life takes a turn when he connects with a French woman named Catherine who needs help.
'The film shows a steady interest from viewers and highlights the presence of Ukrainian cinema in the science fiction genre,' said a statement from the agency.
The premiere of 'You Are the Cosmos' took place at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024, as part of the Discovery program, showcasing the best works from first-time filmmakers worldwide. Director and screenwriter Pavel Ostrikov spent nearly 10 years working on this project. For filming, complex sets were created along with an animatronic that moved independently on screen. A great deal of effort was directed towards recreating the beauty of space. The film has garnered numerous awards both in Ukraine and abroad.
'When a planet explodes and the hero is left alone at the end of the world, we, Ukrainians, also feel this situation,' director Pavel Ostrikov shared in an interview with Radio Liberty.
He noted that the first draft of the script was written in 2015, reflecting a child's view of space. 'My task was to fit my story into the knowledge I had acquired. It's a compromise between narrative filmmaking and reality, making it possible to consider it science fiction, because some theories indeed exist not just in our cinema but in reality,' emphasized the director.
Pavel Ostrikov also mentioned that he drew inspiration from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' and Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' while creating his film.
'Robot Maxim is an animatronic. We built it together with engineers so that it could move on camera. We also constructed space modules and rooms, reducing the amount of graphics. The simple rule is: if you see something with your own eyes on set and you like it, then it’s good. The saying 'we'll fix it in post-production' doesn't really work, because even if the graphics improve, our eyes still notice the difference,' the director explained.
Furthermore, Pavel Ostrikov shared his favorite films, recommending that Ukrainians watch 'Oil' by Paul Thomas Anderson, the animation 'Mary and Max', the horror detective 'Weapon' by Zach Cregger, 'Brutalist' by Brady Corbet, and 'Forrest Gump' by Robert Zemeckis.
