_Fragments of love and war
PITCHED AT
_Synopsis
Red Zone is an animated docudramedy that follows Iryna, a Ukrainian filmmaker and single mother, as she navigates everyday life in Kyiv under the shadow of war. Between air raid sirens, missed calls from the frontline, and her teenage son’s indifference, Iryna clings to fragments of poetry, memory, and humor. Blending personal narrative with surreal visuals and documentary interviews, the film captures a city balancing between absurd normalcy and looming catastrophe. At once intimate and universal, Red Zone is a deeply human portrait of resilience, motherhood, and the quiet rituals that tether us to life in times of chaos.
_Tech Sheet
Format: Feature-length animated documentary
Running time: 90'
Status: In development
Year: 2026
Versions: Ukrainian / English
Author: Iryna TSILYK
Director: Iryna TSILYK
Art directors: Flóra Anna BUDA
Producers: Darya BASSEL, Marion GUTH, François LE GALL, Jean-François LE CORRE
Production companies: Moon Man (UA), a_BAHN (LU), Vivement Lundi! (FR)
World Sales: Cinephil
With the support of: IDFA Bertha Fund, IWM Documenting Ukraine, Chicken&Egg (USA), Women Make Movies, Eurimages Development award, IMS, ESFUF, Film Fund Luxembourg, Région Bretagne
Pitched at: CPH:FORUM, EAVE Producer Workshop, B2B Doc, CEE Animation, Anidox, MIFA Annecy
Iryna Tsilyk
Director
Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian filmmaker, writer, and poet born on November 18, 1982, in Kyiv. She graduated summa cum laude from the Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinematography and Television named by Ivan Karpenko-Kary.
Tsilyk gained international recognition with her debut feature-length documentary, The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020), which won the Directing Award in the World Cinema Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. The film portrays a family living in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine, exploring how they use filmmaking as a means to cope with the realities of conflict. 
In 2022, she directed Rock. Paper. Grenade, a fiction film based on the novel Who Are You? by her husband, Ukrainian writer Artem Chekh. The story is a coming-of-age tale set in the 1990s, reflecting on the post-Soviet experience.  
Beyond filmmaking, Tsilyk is an accomplished author of eight books, including poetry, prose, and children’s literature. Her works have been translated into multiple languages and presented at various international literary festivals.
Currently, Tsilyk is working on Red Zone, an animated documentary that delves into the surreal aspects of living through war, blending her poetic sensibility with visual storytelling. She resides in Kyiv with her son, while her husband serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian filmmaker, writer, and poet born on November 18, 1982, in Kyiv. She graduated summa cum laude from the Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinematography and Television named by Ivan Karpenko-Kary.
Tsilyk gained international recognition with her debut feature-length documentary, The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020), which won the Directing Award in the World Cinema Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival. The film portrays a family living in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine, exploring how they use filmmaking as a means to cope with the realities of conflict. 
In 2022, she directed Rock. Paper. Grenade, a fiction film based on the novel Who Are You? by her husband, Ukrainian writer Artem Chekh. The story is a coming-of-age tale set in the 1990s, reflecting on the post-Soviet experience.  
Beyond filmmaking, Tsilyk is an accomplished author of eight books, including poetry, prose, and children’s literature. Her works have been translated into multiple languages and presented at various international literary festivals.
Currently, Tsilyk is working on Red Zone, an animated documentary that delves into the surreal aspects of living through war, blending her poetic sensibility with visual storytelling. She resides in Kyiv with her son, while her husband serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
PRODUCED BY
SALES AGENT
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
