The Ukrainian documentary “Illusion of a Quiet Night,” directed by Olha Chernykh, received a special award at the Visions du Réel international film festival in the Burning Lights Competition program.
The film was presented at the 57th festival, which runs from April 17 to 26 in Nyon. The film is participating in the Burning Lights competition, which focuses on innovative documentaries.
As noted, the film “Illusion of a Quiet Night” was created as a large-scale collective project: it was filmed during one night in July 2025 with the participation of more than 40 cameramen and hundreds of people from different regions of Ukraine.
The film captures the night of July 27-28, 2025 – from the northern forests to the southern steppes, from front-line territories to cities that survived air raids.
People of all ages, professions, and experiences joined the filming, documenting their own reality during the war. The result is a collective portrait of a country going through war, combining large-scale shots and intimate observations.
According to the team, the project became an experimental and at the same time emotional statement about life in the country during the curfew.
