
My Thoughts Are Silent
Moi dumki tikhi
Directed by
Ukraine
2019
104 min
- Ukrainian
Comedy
Twenty-five-year-old Vadym earns a living recording and selling all kinds of different sounds; nevertheless, he’d rather exchange his life in Kyiv for a better future in far-flung Canada. Thus, when he gets a generous job offer which might help him realise his dream, he jumps at the chance; he soon sets off to record the sounds of animals indigenous to Ukraine and also a rare bird native to the Carpathians. The situation proves somewhat more complicated when Vadym’s companion on the trip turns out to be his mother.
Awards
- Special Jury Prize (East of the West Competition) - Karlovy Vary IFF
- Special Mention (National Competition), Golden Duke for Best Actress (Irma Vitovska), Audience Award, FIPRESCI Award for Best Feature Film - Odesa IFF
Festivals
Labels & Line Ups
Credits
- Cast
- Andriy Lidagovskiy
- Irma Vitovska
- Screenplay
- Antonio Lukich
- Valeria Kalchenko
- Cinematography
- Illia Yehorov
- Editing
- Alexander Chorny
Director's Statement
MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT is a story about immigration, as a state of mind. It’s about a young man, who grew up too quickly and his middleaged mother, who managed to stay young at heart. It is a story about the last journey to the places of your childhood, which do not become one’s true love, but love they can teach. Our protagonist is heavy in both his figure and his thoughts. The movements of our camera are not the accidental impulses of the camera operator. They are the clumsy apparatus’ reactions to the calls of the world around it. Our protagonist is very tall, but it is not an excuse for us to laugh at someone who has already been mocked by mother-nature, it is the reason we distance ourselves and observe the story from afar, instead of being right inside of it. There is a difference between passive contemplation and active empathy, which has nothing to do with imitating action through camera - it is to do with author’s attitude towards his characters. Our characters constantly blab on about the little nothings and stay silent about what’s really important. The nature of this silence is the main subject of our film. The birth of a new idea flickering across a person’s face is the main focus of our frame and silence is our strongest accent. As only in silence can one hear its inner voice. Our story takes place at the crossing of different genres. The cold air of drama and the warm air of comedy meet in the spring troposphere. We speak to the audience in the language of the atmospheric front born in between the two. The buffer zone between the air masses of sad and funny is our intonation. The counterpoint is our music. The conflict is our atmosphere. The pause is our act. Spring is our colour. The road is our rhythm. 16-18°C is the temperature of our air. The partly cloudy skies of the plot are possible but without the pathetical precipitation.
- Production
- TOY CINEMA
- Sales
- REASON8 FILMS
Press
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A breath of fresh air for Ukrainian cinema.
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An accomplished and engaging dramedy.
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Well-distributed deadpan humour, colourful locations and steady camerawork.

Antonio Lukich
Ukraine
MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT is a story about immigration, as a state of mind. It’s about a young man, who grew up too quickly and his middleaged mother, who managed to stay young at heart. It is a story about the last journey to the places of your childhood, which do not become one’s true love, but love they can teach.
Antonio was born in Uzhgorod, Western Ukraine. He studied directing at Kyiv National Karpenko-Kary University. His graduation short film IT WAS SHOWERING IN MANCHESTER (2015) was awarded Best Short Film at Odesa IFF 2016. MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT (2019), his feature film debut, was presented as a project at Meeting Point - Vilnius 2019 where it won the co-production events main award. It later premiered in Karlovy Vary's East of the West competition where it won a special jury prize. It went on to win a slew of awards at Odesa IFF including the FIPRESCI and Audience Award.