30 March 2026
(PHOTO: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh)
Cinematographer, People's Artist of Ukraine, director of the Odesa Film Studio, Willen Novak died on March 29.
This was reported by the Odesa branch of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine.
"Today we have lost Willen Zakharovych Novak, one of the last classics of the great Odesa Film Studio, our colleague, and for many a mentor... People's Artist of Ukraine, corresponding member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, member of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, director, screenwriter, actor - Willen Novak was the embodiment of an entire era," his colleagues said.
His last directorial work was a film about Mariupol during the Second World War, Why I'm Alive, based on real events. The film won the Best Feature Film category at the Future of Film Awards in Macedonia in 2022. The film was also selected for the official selection of the Prague International Film Awards, a film festival with live screenings in Prague. The film Why I'm Alive, directed by Willen Novak, won two international film festivals in 2021.
Willen Novak graduated from the Kyiv Film School (1956) and the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv Institute of Theater Arts (1971, Voitetsky's workshop). He worked as a film distribution inspector. Since 1971, he has been a director at the Odesa Feature Film Studio. In the post-Soviet period, he also worked at other studios. His works have received awards and prizes at a number of domestic and foreign film festivals. He is a member of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine.
His films are well-known and interesting: "The Ring", "Red Couriers", "Invasion", "Two Versions of the Same Clash", "Goo-Goo", "Princess on Beans", "Stop on Demand", "Private Lives of Officials", "Shoot Now!" and many others. His works have repeatedly won awards at international festivals.
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