Olivier Sarbil’s ‘Viktor’ Trailer Reveals A Deaf Ukrainian’s Journey Through War

The first glimpse of Viktor has arrived via Indiewire, and it’s a haunting, exquisitely rendered portrait of conflict, silence, and resolve.

Directed by French documentarian Olivier Sarbil, the film centers on Viktor, a deaf man living in Kharkiv during the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, whose lifelong fascination with samurai mythologies collides violently with the realities of war.

The cast is not conventional — Viktor is his own narrator, and the film leans on real voices, observational storytelling, striking black-and-white cinematography, and a deeply immersive soundscape to tell its story.

Viktor premiered in the Platform Prize program at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and has since toured major festivals, including Hamptons International Film Festival where it won the Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Feature. It opens in Los Angeles beginning October 3, 2025.

Here is the official synopsis from the film’s press materials: Viktor, a young Deaf man in Kharkiv, watches warily during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A fan of samurai films and raised on stories of war, he dreams of becoming a warrior but is repeatedly denied when he tries to enlist. Eager to find purpose, Viktor embarks on a quest to find his place in the midst of a war he cannot hear.

In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Sarbil reflected on his approach to the film: “With Viktor I approached sign language just like any other language. By embracing new ways to communicate with your contributors I believe you can build strong connections that reflect a greater sense of authenticity in their stories.”

He explained that the sound design was crafted in tandem with collaborators from Sound of Metal’s team, experimenting to give hearing audiences glimpses into Viktor’s inner auditory world while preserving a sense of silence.

“We involved Viktor in the production by asking him to document his thoughts and feelings in a journal for the voiceover piece. Through this approach we created a space for authentic self-reflection, capturing his inner world more intimately than would a traditional interview. It really allowed Viktor to shape the narrative, which enriched his role in the project.”

POV Magazine describes it as “a sumptuous aesthetic achievement.” Praising its bold sound design, it wrote “Its Hollywood class sound design is one of its highlights, employed to showcase the titular single figure, a deaf war photographer, navigating the vagaries of a nation at war.”

Watch the official trailer for Viktor, above.