Age: 28
Education: Directing, Ivan Karpenko-Karyi National University of Theater, Film and Television
Profession: Film director
Did you know? He is a pizza buff and dreams of running his own pizza place. He says his brain is divided into four sections: control functions, soccer, cinema and the largest — pizza.
With his feature film debut, writer-director Antonio Lukić made something of a phenomenon in Ukrainian cinema — a profitable comedy loved both by the general public and more sophisticated viewers.
“My Thoughts Are Silent” premiered in 2019, winning awards at film festivals in Karlovy Vary, Odesa and Minsk. Lukić thought it was the peak of success for his rather auteur film.
But then came the wide release in 2020. With a budget of Hr 9.2 million ($324,000), the film made over Hr 10 million ($353,000) in Ukraine, becoming one of the few profitable Ukrainian movies.
Comedies are in demand in war-torn Ukraine, but it’s not the main reason for the success of “My Thoughts…” Through humor, it told an appealing story about a struggling freelancer who dreams to emigrate from Ukraine, but not before reconnecting with his estranged mother.
“In a lighter form, I try to reach serious subjects,” Lukić told the Kyiv Post. “We didn’t make it to please anyone, but only to surprise.”
And it worked. Without much advertising, twice as many viewers came to see the film in its second week in cinemas than in the first. People simply told each other to go watch it.
Over those weeks, Lukić became a sought-after director in Ukraine. Many offers followed to shoot and give talks about directing, and famous people started to approach him. He even received the state title of an “honored artist.” But these perks quickly get tiresome, Lukić says.
“I’m still the same nobody when I go settle the utility bills,” he says. And adds jokingly: “No, I now actually always ask to serve salmon on the film set.”
Besides the odd jobs shooting commercials, Lukić doesn’t shy away from directing TV series on someone else’s script. The most recent one is “Sex, Insta and ZNO” — a modern drama about a teenage girl struggling with her sexuality in the digital age, and that accursed out-of-school exam.
“The series’ screenplay resonated with me, and it became a platform for realizing my ideas and exercises in comedy and other things,” he says.
But the top priority for Lukić is his next film “Luxembourg, Luxembourg” about Ukrainian twin brothers on a trip to meet their father in the European microstate. Lukić returns to his family themes: While “My Thoughts…” is a tribute to his mother, the upcoming film is a reflection on his father.
“When you want to recreate a time that is gone or revive a person who’s not with you — you go and do it in film,” Lukić says.
