Listening to the World

Cannes Docs

Listening to the World

Original title: Прислухаючись до світу

Directed by: Yelizaveta Smith

Produced by: Eugene Rachkovsky, Olha Beskhmelnytsina (TABOR, Ukraine)

Country of production: Ukraine

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: Late 2023

Production stage: Production

Budget: € 205,500 (4% in place)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Co-producers, sales agents / distributors

Synopsis:

Iva doesn’t hear the world because of her disability. She is an art curator and human-right activist trying to find her place in the world and make it hear her. But unfortunately, she and her son Mykyta faces the war and are evacuated from bombed Kharkiv to Lviv and then to Germany, where they as well as thousands of other Ukrainians try to find peace until the war ends.

Director’s profile:

Yelizaveta Smith graduated from the KNUTC as a film director. In 2014, she co-founded the film production company Tabor Production. After the Ukrainian revolution, she started volunteer work with children in the city of Mykolaivka in the Donetsk area, which the war partly destroyed. Her experience there led to the documentary School Number 3, co-directed by George Genoux. The film premiered at Berlinale 2017, winning the Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus, and a Special Award at HumanDOC in Warsaw. Her debut short fiction Solitude was selected to Odesa IFF and Raindance in 2019 and was nominated for Best Short Film at the Ukrainian Film Academy Awards 2020. Currently working on development of Vacuum – feature fiction film that took part at Torino Film Lab Extended, MidPoint Feature Launch etc. Yelizaveta is a Berlinale Talents alumni and member of the Ukrainian Film Academy and EFA.

Producer’s profile:

Eugene Rachkovsky was born in Odesa, Ukraine. Graduated from the Odesa National Maritime University as a Master of Transport technologies and systems. He was working as a Director of sales for a petroleum trading company, but changed his professional way and move to Kyiv for working in the film industry. In 2018 worked as associate producer on a short film Solitude directed by Yelizaveta Smith. In 2019-2021 worked for the service production company Radioaktivefilm, which shoot commercials for brands like Apple, Samsung, Honda, Jo Malone and etc. After working few years in advertisement he focus on film producing. From October 2020 has worked as Chief Commercial Officer in TABOR Production. Producer of a short fiction film Black Dog, which release are going to be in the summer 2022. Participant of the EURODOC22 programs with the project Silent Flood by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk.