Private Project

Fish

Three incompatible stories unfold against the backdrop of everyday tragedies: a little boy tries to save a fish that his mother is about to cook for soup; a vegetarian, fanatical about following all the rules of a healthy life, suddenly chokes on a walnut; a woman, in unbearable pain, gives birth not to a child, but to a doll. Each character fights their own battle, only to confront the inevitable — death, the common denominator of all lives.

  • Victoria Zadorska
    Director
  • Victoria Zadorska
    Writer
  • Artem Holubiev
    Producer
  • Eldar Yukhymchuk
    Key Cast
  • Anzhela Danyliuk
    Key Cast
  • Eric Nykyforuk
    Key Cast
  • Tetiana Stankevych
    Key Cast
  • Illia Pryzenko
    DOP
  • Ruslan Osyka
    PRODUCTION DESIGNER
  • Oleksii Boriak
    EDITOR
  • Yevhen Petrusenko
    SOUND DIRECTOR
  • Liam Colomer
    COMPOSER
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 6, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • 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:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Victoria Zadorska

Victoria Zadorska is a Ukrainian director, screenwriter, and writer. She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in theater and film arts. Victoria currently resides in Kyiv, where she works on creating films and books. She is the director of the sports documentary film *I Want to be like Kharlan* (premiere on Suspilne Sport television and streaming in November 2025) for public broadcasting in Ukraine, as well as the fiction short film *Me, Mom and the Cosmonaut*, *Under the pillow* (premiere on Kino Guarimba in Italy in 2024), student fiction short film *Fish*. She is the author of fantasy books *Skeletons from My Grandmother's Closet* (longlisted for the BBC Children's Book of the Year 2024), *Spacedad* (shortlisted for the BBC Children's Book of the Year 2025), and the dilogy *Vovkun*. Victoria also served as a jury member at the Festival du Film Merveilleux 2023 in Paris and participated in film residencies at the Gothenburg Film Festival in 2023 and Kino Guarimba in Italy in 2024.

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Director Statement

Every day, outside the window of my home, the most absurd reality unfolds — a war in the heart of Europe in the 21st century. An event that makes no sense in a civilized world, yet it continues, casting doubt on all my beliefs and leaving hundreds of questions unanswered, questions that perhaps will never find answers.
"Fish" is a metaphorical film in which I, as the author, reflect on the idea that life is a journey toward death, often meaningless and unexpected. If that's the case, does that mean life itself is also meaningless and unpredictable? This is a contemplation on the absurdity of our existence and how we try to find meaning in a world that constantly forces us to confront uncertainty, chaos, and fear.