Ruslan Batytskyi
Writer/ Director · Fiction Feature
My motivation for my project “Blindsight“
On a personal level, this film explores my relationship with my father through the lens of a new reality in Ukraine, especially the fact that we are 400 km apart because of the war. I have a strong emotional connection with athletes with disabilities (such as goalball players) and want to tell the story of their lives. In speaking about blindness, the film addresses questions of human connection and envisions a future for Ukrainians. I want to tell a story about a war that ended and about lives brought together.
How do you plan to use the scholarship?
I plan to use my scholarship for writing the second draft of the script.
Covering the basic monthly allowance will help me to completely focus on the development of the script and the future film and to distance myself from the necessity of looking and taking part in small freelance projects.
Trips in Ukraine most probably will include trips to Poltava, where the National goalball team of Ukraine is based and to Cherkasy, where players of another goalball team reside and with whom I am in a good working relationship. This part of the project would give an important chance to reconnect with the world of goalball, with teams and players. As far as I know, the National team has resumed
its training. Besides, meeting the players will give me a good chance to find out how the war has changed their lives, and see the transformations they are going through in the challenging times. I plan to meet Serhiy Vrabiy from Cherkasy, a real-life model of Artur from the film, who will probably play him in the movie. Also, I plan to make additional interviews with players and coach (some interviews with players were recorded before the war, and now will be interesting to track their changes).
Participating in cinema-markets and laboratories. We are considering taking part and preparing applications for Berlinale Talents, Baltic Event та IDFA Lab/Academy. Though the last is a documentary platform it will give me as a former documentary director a lot of useful insights into the research of the story and narrative building of the script. Besides that I plan to develop our relations with the National Sports Committee for the Disabled of Ukraine, which were a great help during work on the first draft. Now I intend to work more closely with their psychologists and consultants during the writing of the second draft of the script.
