Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi gives emotional speech as Ukraine war movie wins best short film at BAFTA 2025. Video

The film Rock Paper Scissors, directed by Franz Böhm and telling the story of the bloody war in Ukraine, won a BAFTA 2025 film award on February 16 in London. The project, starring Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi, won the Best British Short Film nomination.

At the prestigious award ceremony, the 28-year-old celebrity gave an emotional speech, dedicating it to his friend Yevhen Svitlychnyi, who lost his life defending his homeland from enemies. The video was posted on the star's Instagram page.

"I'm gonna dedicate this award to my friend Zhenya Svitlychnyi, who died in the war 5 days before we started shooting. And also to all those who defend and make my country independent. Thank you so much, BAFTA, and Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine - ed.)," the actor said on stage.

Yevhen Svitlychnyi's life was cut short on July 19, 2023, at the age of 29, while performing a combat mission in the Kharkiv sector. He was a soldier of the "Da Vinci" 1st Assault Battalion. In 2021, the defender played a role in the film directed by Oleh Sentsov - Nosorih (Rhino).

What is known about the movie

The short film was shot by the British-German director Franz Böhm. Based on a true story, Rock Paper Scissors is set during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Oleksandr Rudynskyi plays the lead role of 18-year-old Ivan, who lives in the east of Ukraine. The young man's father works as a surgeon, so since the beginning of the war he has been saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and operating on them in a special bunker. When the enemy found out about the shelter, Ivan had to take up arms to protect the wounded soldiers.

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