Mykyta Gibalenko

CAMOUFLAGE / КАМУФЛЯЖ

Drama, Germany, 102 min, 2026

Languages: Ukrainian, German, Russian, English

2021. When 22-year-old Vitaly leaves his mother Tetyana and his beloved sister Eugenia behind in Ukraine, he dreams of starting a new life in Munich, Germany. Struggling to find his place in a foreign country, he eventually finds belonging within a student theatre group. Everything changes with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Eugenia and Tetyana are forced to flee. Overnight, two harsh realities arrive at Vitaly’s doorstep: the political state of the world and his own family conflicts.

World Premiere at Giornate degli Autori section of Venice Film Festival (September 2026)

Director's Statement

On the one hand, this story is tied to my own experience: migrating to Germany in 2013, searching for a new home and the growing urge to reconnect with my Ukrainian roots after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale-invasion. Camouflage addresses the dilemma of life in the space between identities through the journey of the main character Vitaly. At the same time this is not an individual coming-of-age story. Migration and war are collective existential experiences. This is why we portray other fates alongside Vitaly’s: Eugenia, his sister, is forced to flee and cannot relate to the seemingly peaceful life in Western Europe, as her girlfriend is missing at the frontline. Vitaly's mother, a teacher with Soviet socialization, refuses to believe that the war is real until the very last moment. Fiona, their host in Germany, feels increasingly overwhelmed by the emotions of her guests. CAMOUFLAGE interweaves these simultaneous experiences, with all its contrasts and contradictions, rather than insisting on a simplified truth.

Production countries: Germany, Lithuania

Production by kalekone film GmbH & ZDF - Das Kleine Fernsehspiel

In collaboration with HFF Munich

Service production by Smart Casual (Lithuania)

Funded by FFF Bayern, Pharos Award

With Arthur Aliiev, Yelyzaveta Tsilyk, Anna Yaremchuk-Bobalo, Klara Lange, Alina Danko, Andrii Kudin

Directed by Mykyta Gibalenko

Written by Mykyta Gibalenko, Sharyhan Osman

Producer Katharina Kolleczek, Lea Neu (kalekone film)

Associate Producer Jennifer Drake

Commissioning Editor ZDF Lucia Haslauer

Director Of Photography Mirko Hans

Production Designer Olga Yurasova

Costume Designer Miriam Waldenspuhl

Hair & Make-Up Designer Stefanie Bauer

Sound Xavier Fleming

Editors Boris Gavrilović, Mykyta Gibalenko

Composer Mykyta Moiseiev