On March 9, the Shevchenko Committee announced the winners of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize 2021.
In the nomination "Cinematography" won the feature film "Atlantis" - the author of the script, director and cinematographer of which was Valentin Vasyanovich, and the artist-director Vladlen Odudenko.
The award ceremony is tentatively scheduled for May 22, 2021 - the day of Taras Shevchenko's reburial on Chernecha Hill near Kaniv. It is to take place in the new cultural center of Kaniv.
The events of the film "Atlantis" unfold in 2025, after the future victory of Ukraine in the war with Russia. The occupied Donbass has been returned to the country, but its territories have been declared uninhabitable. However, against the background of devastation, a new love is born. All roles in the film were played by non-professional actors. The performers are Andriy Rymaruk, a former spy, a volunteer of the Come Back Alive charity foundation, Lyudmyla Bileka, a paramedic, and Vasyl Antonyak, a volunteer. The film was shot in Mariupol and Kyiv.
The world premiere of "Atlantis" took place at the Venice Film Festival in the "Horizons" section, where the film won the top prize. Over the past year, the film has enjoyed widespread international success - the film has been shown at more than 50 festivals, where in addition to the Venice Victory, it won four other Grand Prix, the film was purchased by HBO Eastern Europe and distributors in three European countries. In addition, the film was included in the long list of the European Film Academy Award and was a contender for the 2021 Oscar from Ukraine in the category of "Best International Feature Film".
The Ukrainian premiere of "Atlantis" took place on September 26, 2020 as part of the international competition program of the Odessa International Film Festival. The tape was released in Ukraine on November 5, 2020.
