4 months ago
In nan crippled of war, location are nary winners, nary losers, only casualties. Both unsettling and tender is Franz Böhm’s BAFTA-winning short movie Rock, Paper, Scissors, which follows nan existent communicative of Ivan (Oleksandr Rudynskyi) arsenic he helps his begetter (Sergey Kalantay) tally a makeshift infirmary adjacent nan frontline of nan Russia-Ukraine war. When Russian craft bearer bombs thwart their plans to activity a much undisturbed area, Russian soldiers commencement to activity retired their bunker. To support nan astir susceptible safe, Ivan has to determine to face nan soldiers aliases deceive them astatine nan imaginable costs of his life.
The 20-minute short film, produced by Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer and backed by nan National Film and Television School, successful summation to winning Best Student Film and nan Best Short Film Grand Prize astatine HollyShorts London, has besides landed nan 2026 Oscars shortlist.
Below, Hoozeer and Böhm talk to Deadline astir nan affectional vulnerabilities and dangers of war.
DEADLINE: How did your gathering pinch Ivan pass Rock, Paper, Scissors?
FRANZ BÖHM: I met Ivan during his clip successful nan U.K. We met by coincidence and created a awesome friendship. At immoderate point, I asked astir a scar he had connected his leg, and he told maine this unthinkable communicative astir nan intolerable decisions he had to make during nan warfare [in Ukraine]. I was very impressed by his civilized courageousness and bravery, and very impressed by how, complete nan span of a day, he was forced to turn up and suffer immoderate consciousness of teenage state he might’ve had. He volunteered afterwards to service successful nan Ukrainian military, but we were capable to constitute a screenplay together, and I besides sewage his proposal connected location scouting. It was a awesome collaboration.
DEADLINE: Oleksandr Rudynskyi plays Ivan. Talk astir that collaboration betwixt you two.
BÖHM: Collaborating pinch Oleksandr was an tremendous grant and pleasure. He’s incredibly talented, knowledgeable and a awesome actor. We worked really difficult to get him successful Ukraine; he is simply a very well-known actor, and erstwhile Ivan learned that Oleksandr was going to play him, that was a immense surprise.
HAYDER HOOZEER: I deliberation it’s besides worthy mentioning that during nan clip of nan accumulation itself, erstwhile we were shooting nan movie and moreover pre-production, nan existent Ivan was successful Ukraine astatine nan frontline. So, nan events nan communicative is telling you are happening successful existent clip for galore different Ukrainians. Even up until this point, nan conflict is still ongoing astatine nan frontline successful Ukraine. Ivan besides passed earlier seeing nan complete type of this film. We had an replacement ending that we had intended to do, but I’m judge group will understand this: you ne'er really meet personification knowing that they are going to dice [relatively soon].
That’s nan weight we’ve carried passim everything to this point: Ivan was live whilst we were making this film, and past he was killed. There isn’t thing that prepares you for that reality, particularly successful filmmaking. When he passed, we trim retired parts of that different ending because ethically and morally it didn’t consciousness correct to proceed his communicative successful nan guidance that we were going to do arsenic a consequence of honoring his death.
DEADLINE: Because this business is still ongoing, was location fearfulness successful covering this topic?
HOOZEER: Well, we now person nan support from nan Office of nan President of Ukraine – I had gone complete to Ukraine during progressive bombardment doubly successful 2025. What was truthful heartbreaking and inspiring was nan quiet bravery and resilience of nan group successful Ukraine. It was really important for america to guarantee this communicative was arsenic authentic arsenic imaginable and was supported by that community. We brought complete Ukrainian actors from Germany. We worked pinch nan Ministry of Culture to bring complete Oleksandr to beryllium capable to sprout successful nan U.K., and moreover that had its ain level of complications because arsenic soon arsenic he arrived, his champion friend was killed successful Ukraine. Franz and I had a speech astir really we should postpone nan sprout because his family and friends were acold much important than nan movie we were making. We said to Oleksandr astir this, but he said he felt a stronger thrust to represent Ivan successful this movie because he understood nan ngo we were trying to achieve.
As filmmakers, we understand nan effect of storytelling; we understand that done nan powerfulness of filmmaking, we tin thief group link pinch different themes and realities affecting group acold distant and, subsequently, those who are really close.
BÖHM: Our squad and our formed members transformed fearfulness into urgency. We had a precocious level of committedness to authenticity crossed each disciplines, sound design, music, accumulation creation and nan performances themselves. Many thoughts went into each item of this film.
DEADLINE: Why was nan handheld camera style nan astir effective measurement to show this communicative for you?
BÖHM: We had nan existent pleasance of moving pinch an highly talented and world caput of departments connected this project. And we had capable clip to hole for nan sprout and to fig retired nan audiovisual connection and nan wide creation of nan project. This was done done extended testing, location scouting, and meetings. We besides watched a batch of films [for inspiration]. So, nan prime to usage nan handheld style was a consequence of those meetings. We wanted to deploy that circumstantial style because nan assemblage is ne'er smarter than Ivan, our main character, and we wanted to beryllium arsenic adjacent to him arsenic imaginable passim nan full film. We incorporated that into nan people and sound creation arsenic good to lucifer what Ivan is emotion during definite moments. For example, nan infinitesimal erstwhile he shoots himself successful nan leg, you’re getting [to see] this unthinkable pain, and oftentimes [when] group person [severe injuries] for illustration this, there’s a batch of trouble [in trying to communicate] because each you tin perceive is your humor pumping done your veins truthful loudly. So, we tried to recreate that pinch some nan sound creation and score.
DEADLINE: Talk astir nan value of nan title Rock, Paper, Scissors. Why did this fresh nan communicative you are telling?
HOOZEER: There are a mates of reasons why nan title is important. Rock, Paper, Scissors is fundamentally a children’s game. There’s an innocence to it. It’s nan thought that, complete nan people of this film, nan reality mirrors really we spot Ivan suffer his innocence. The crippled besides mirrors warfare successful nan consciousness that location aren’t really immoderate existent winners, conscionable for illustration location are nary existent winners successful Rock, Paper, Scissors. With nan movie focusing connected nan civilian constituent of view, erstwhile Ivan is retired successful nan world, we tin perceive those jets flying over. But successful that situation, you don’t cognize if they’re friends aliases if they’re foes. This could beryllium nan past clip you measurement outside. Survival successful warfare is simply a crippled of luck and a crippled of chance. And it really felt like, particularly pinch nan communicative of Ivan itself, almost a coming-of-age communicative for Ivan. It’s a warfare thriller.
BÖHM: The movie is not really astir warfare successful nan first place. It’s astir group and really they respond and person to behave erstwhile nan systems astir them, created to protect them, conscionable collapse. And I deliberation that’s what Rock, Paper, Scissors is trying to show done Ivan’s harrowing, sadistic story.
DEADLINE: You’ve won nan BAFTA and scooped up awards from various world festivals and now person landed nan Oscars shortlist. As a producer, what person you noticed astir nan different reactions to nan regions that you’ve played this in?
HOOZEER: This communicative humanizes nan realities of war. Globally, we’ve had rather a successful show run. We’ve had nan movie show successful New Zealand, LA, crossed nan U.S., nan U.K., successful Europe, moreover successful Africa and Mauritius. We’ve had rather a batch of world consequence to nan film, and I deliberation it’s little astir nan glorification of heroism. The characteristic is not a Hollywood hero. The thought is that he’s a civilian, he’s a human. I deliberation nan movie explores choices made nether pressure, nan thrust to prevention everyone without leaving anyone behind, nan consequence for nan greater good, resilience erstwhile everything crumbles and nan patient defense of what we clasp dear. These themes unfold pinch deliberate intensity, and that’s been cosmopolitan everyplace we’ve taken this film.
DEADLINE: Franz, you’re still successful your mid-20s. Between this and your erstwhile documentary, Dear Future Children, location seems to beryllium a desire to show stories astir group surviving nether oppressive regimes. Don’t you conscionable want to beryllium a feline successful his 20s? These are immoderate analyzable topics.
BÖHM: My relationship to movie was created erstwhile I was still rather young. I mislaid my begetter erstwhile I was 11, and that was a very difficult clip for my mother and I. During that time, I recovered a individual flight successful watching films, particularly adventurous ones group successful different countries aliases those successful which nan lead characters had to toggle shape themselves. I retrieve being rather young and getting fascinated erstwhile I researched what each nan different credits connected a movie meant, for illustration what a DoP aliases a shaper does.
I was a 14-year-old surviving successful South Germany erstwhile I stepped onto my first movie group arsenic a runner and instantly fell successful emotion pinch nan process of making films, which, to this day, I deliberation is profoundly magical and amazing. I cognize I person knowledgeable it firsthand really overmuch films tin thief people. Obviously, erstwhile I opportunity ‘help people,’ it sounds for illustration a elemental phrase, but I deliberation it intends helping group understand 1 another. Film helps america understand a subjective acquisition that personification other mightiness have. For example, successful Germany, it helped understand nan devastation of nan Holocaust and each its different factions and nan consequences massively.
Cinema often helps america zoom successful connected a conflict, tragedy, aliases moreover a affirmative infinitesimal successful a peculiar story, experience, aliases characteristic to stock nan worth of that experience. That’s what cinema is astir to me. I’m very grateful that, arsenic a young boy pinch nary anterior relationship to nan manufacture – I person nary family members who activity successful nan media manufacture – I was capable to get into nan manufacture this way. I’m grateful for nan galore collaborators I’ve had connected this journey, and I’m looking guardant to galore much that I’ll hopefully meet successful nan future. I’m grateful I was capable to study astatine nan National Film and Television School, a spot that was ever a dream for me. I was capable to meet truthful galore unthinkable chap students, galore of whom helped maine create Rock, Paper, Scissors. And successful today’s world, location are truthful galore conflicts brewing alongside caller governmental movements and emerging problems. If you look astatine cinema complete nan past fewer years, I would opportunity films person done an fantabulous occupation of helping america arsenic a nine statement these problems, and that’s what I’m really excited and passionate about.
[This question and reply has been edited for magnitude and clarity]
