A taut moral thriller that centers on the intersection of conscience, the individual and society, Victim will inspire much discussion. The central character is single mother Irina (intensely and sympathetically played by Vita Smachelyuk). She’s a hard-working Ukrainian immigrant in the Czech Republic where Igor, her high school-aged son, is a competitive gymnast. While she was in Ukraine sorting out their documents so that they can become Czech citizens, Igor winds up beaten and broken in the hall of their apartment building. When he awakes in the hospital after surgery, he tells a story of assault by a group of non-white youths, thus casting suspicion on the combative Roma family living in the flat above. As Irina becomes involved with and indebted to elements of the town that seem all too ready to act on their anti-Roma sentiment, she starts to suspect that her son is not telling the truth. –Alissa Simon
Director Biography
Michal Blaško is an award-winning Slovak director and screenwriter whose short films include “Fear” (2015), “Zidka” (2015), “Atlantis, 2003” (2017) which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and “The Truck” (2017). Victim (2022) is his feature debut.