Victim (2022 film)

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Victim (2022 film)

Victim, a Czech title Oběť, is a 2022 thriller drama directed by Michal Blaško and written by Jakub Medvecký. It is a joint production of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The film runs 91 minutes and is spoken in Czech, Ukrainian and Russian.

Plot
Ukrainian mother Irina lives in a small Czech border town with her son Igor. One night, Igor is attacked by three Roma people, and his gymnastic career is suddenly in danger because of a serious injury. Irina campaigns for justice, drawing media attention and public support for her family. As the city stands with them, Igor recovers from surgery and is surprised by the attention on his mother. The investigation continues, but Igor begins to reveal details of what happened, while Irina notices inconsistencies in his story.

Cast
- Vita Smachelyuk as Irina
- Gleb Kuchuk
- Igor Chmela

Release and reception
Victim premiered in the Horizons section at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. It was shown at other major festivals, including Toronto, Kolkata, Cairo and Busan. It was Slovakia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. The film won two Sun in a Net Awards (Best Film and Best Director) and two Czech Film Critics’ Awards (Best Actress and Best Debut). It was also nominated for four Czech Lions (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress). Box office totals were modest, with 4,689 in earnings.