The documentary «Vasiliy Yermilov the Constructor» is a series of sketches for a portrait of a an exceptional Constructivist artist Vasiliy Yermilov, an acquaintance with a an extraordinary personality from an era of great change. A cosmopolitan, a humanist, and an innovator that lived and worked in a totalitarian society, Vasiliy Yermilov embodied the ideals of a significant era in Ukraine's history, eventually «designing» the style of that era.

Having embraced and believed in ideals of the Revolution Yermilov became its herald, only to have his life eventually ravaged by the unforgiving wheel of a totalitarian system. Yermilov had to go through many of the hardships that came with living in the early 20th century Ukraine. He never stayed in the shadow, but always ended up in the epicenter of things, whether it was writing manifestos, fighting in a war, or serving time in jail.

It is hard to say, whether a true genius is a «product» of his era, or if the coming of a genius occurs beyond time so that he can put an image of the era upon canvas, And this was exactly what Yermilov did. As the era demanded, he embraced the new way of thinking, new materials and art forms, creating designs of tribunes and newsstands, advertisement banners and posters, agitation trains and concert venues, street decorations for mass celebrations, synthesizing the national and the revolutionary in his work. Yet despite being at the forefront of the emerging new aesthetics, Yermilov is far from being well-known, especially when compared to other artists of his caliber, such as Malevich, Tatlin or Rodchenko.

«Vasiliy Yermilov, a riotous master from a turbulent era … It was the grand «plywood period» in our art. Every street, every square, every house was screaming with colors, slogans, and banners designed by Vasiliy Yermilov. It was the appeal of the Revolution in color. Nothing like that has ever been created before, and,almost nothing survived for future generations. It was a unique style of a unique era.» / Valerian Polishuk