Experiencing Interruptions?

Counterpoint

A young academic composer faces creative stagnation until an encounter with a DJ disrupts her disciplined world. Through this meeting, she begins to explore a different relationship to music – and to herself – shaped by instinct, joy, and release.

  • Yelyzaveta Klymets
    Director
  • Yelyzaveta Klymets
    Writer
  • Yelyzaveta Klymets
    Producer
  • Natalia Zavinska
    Key Cast
    "Composer"
  • Daniel Khoroshavin
    Key Cast
    "DJ"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Контрапункт
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 14 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 31, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Ukraine
  • Country of Filming:
    Ukraine
  • Language:
    Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Ukrainian Film School
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Yelyzaveta Klymets

Yelyzaveta Klymets is an emerging director based in Kyiv, Ukraine. She studied cultural studies at NaUKMA and film directing at Ukrainian Film School.

Her graduation short film, COUNTERPOINT, premiered nationally in 2025 and is now on its international festival journey.

Yelyzaveta is also currently developing her next short film project, THE SILENCE BETWEEN US, which explores the fragile emotional landscapes of relationships under the pressure of wartime reality. The project has been longlisted for Midpoint Shorts '25 and participated in Raw Pitch at the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival.

Yelyzaveta is an alumna of the "Road to Clermont" program at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2026.

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Director Statement

In my work, I have always been fascinated by the quiet, internal transformations that occur when a woman decides to reclaim her instinct from a rigid environment. COUNTERPOINT is a sensory exploration of that specific shift.

Coming from a background in cultural studies, I wanted to examine the friction between the intellectual "architecture" of academic music and the visceral, bodily experience of rhythm. The protagonist, a young composer, exists in a world of strict discipline and theoretical perfection – a world that has ultimately led her to creative and emotional stagnation. Her encounter with a DJ is not just a meeting of two people, but a collision of two philosophies: one that demands control, and one that invites release.

Through a meticulous focus on sound design and a sensory-driven visual language, the film traces her journey from "thinking" music to "feeling" it. It is an exploration of the female perspective on autonomy – the moment where the body stops following the rules and starts following its own beat.

COUNTERPOINT is about the internal act of rebellion found through the simple act of seeking connection and joy in a world that often demands only performance.