
Acting
Pylyp Illienko
Born
1977-09-30 (49)
Place of birth
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Kyiv, Ukraine]
Known for
Acting
Credits
15 titles
Ukrainian actor, producer, politician. Son of film director Yuri Ilyenko and actress Lyudmila Yefymenko.
Known for
5.9Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The spirit of the forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.
A Story of the Forest: Mavka
1980
8.2Kharkiv, the 1930s. The heyday of Ukrainian art. Ambitious young poet Vladimir Akimov happily settles in at the new luxury "Slovo" House built specifically for artists. He comes from the provinces and works as a proof-reader in a printing press, and has never even dreamed of living under one roof with prominent Ukrainian writers and artists. He thinks his own poetry is genius, but nobody takes his literary efforts seriously, not to mention the occasional chuckles over his epigone poems. But fate smiles at him. The head of the political intelligence agency suggests that he become the author of a play written earlier. Akimov agrees, signing a non- disclosure note. The poet has no idea what price he will pay for this success. “‘Slovo’ House” is a story about a generation of Ukrainian artists persecuted by the totalitarian system, unfolding against the backdrop of one of the largest genocides of the 20th century: the Holodomor, which caused the death of almost 7 million people.
“Slovo” House. Unfinished Novel
2024
6.2A convict is forced to hide within a model of a hammer and sickle. Here a tragic romance ensues between the convict and woman worker; which is spoilt by the woman's jealous young son. The convict is then forced to undergo a tragic bid for freedom which ends with the beauty of swans contrasted with the imprisoned convicts and the hopeful but ultimately tragic wait by the woman for her lover.
Swan Lake: The Zone
1990
NRLiuba and Andrii, two war veterans bearing both physical wounds and the invisible scars of PTSD, find solace in each other as they navigate the long road to recovery. Their bond offers a fragile hope for healing, but as they confront the lasting impact of trauma and the challenge of rebuilding their lives, their connection is tested in a quiet, deeply human struggle for love, strength, and renewal.
The Fatigued
2026
NRDocumentary hommage to Sergey Parajanov on the occasion of his 100 anniversary. Witness the blend of unique archive material with surrealistic puppetry scenes, seamlessly blurring the lines between imagination and reality.
A Sentimental Journey to the Parajanov Planet
2025
6.7The film is a poetic adaptation of a series of stories (oral and written) about Princess Olha of Kyivan Rus' (Ukraine-Rusʹ) at the start of the 11th century. Inspired by chronicles and folk legends this is a story of a common girl Olha who married Prince Ihor and became his successor on the throne after his murder and one of the most remarkable political leaders in early medieval European history. She converted to Christianity and brought her realm into Europe.
The Legend of Princess Olga
1984
Film credits
2020s · 2 titles
NRLiuba and Andrii, two war veterans bearing both physical wounds and the invisible scars of PTSD, find solace in each other as they navigate the long road to recovery. Their bond offers a fragile hope for healing, but as they confront the lasting impact of trauma and the challenge of rebuilding their lives, their connection is tested in a quiet, deeply human struggle for love, strength, and renewal.
The Fatigued
2026
NRA documentary film about the rise of Ukrainian cinema both at the national level and on the international stage.
Ukrainian Cinema. The Rise
2022
1990s · 2 titles
6.2A convict is forced to hide within a model of a hammer and sickle. Here a tragic romance ensues between the convict and woman worker; which is spoilt by the woman's jealous young son. The convict is then forced to undergo a tragic bid for freedom which ends with the beauty of swans contrasted with the imprisoned convicts and the hopeful but ultimately tragic wait by the woman for her lover.
Swan Lake: The Zone
1990
9.0Once in the underpass at the Philharmonic, a singer Lyudmila hears a heavenly voice of a beggar-girl singing "Ave Maria" ...
Ave Maria
1999
1980s · 3 titles
5.9Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The spirit of the forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.
A Story of the Forest: Mavka
1980
6.7The film is a poetic adaptation of a series of stories (oral and written) about Princess Olha of Kyivan Rus' (Ukraine-Rusʹ) at the start of the 11th century. Inspired by chronicles and folk legends this is a story of a common girl Olha who married Prince Ihor and became his successor on the throne after his murder and one of the most remarkable political leaders in early medieval European history. She converted to Christianity and brought her realm into Europe.
The Legend of Princess Olga
1984
10.0Vasyl Vilgota raised two sons. One of them died on the fronts of the Second World War, defending the homeland, and the second served as Hilfspolizei. Vilgota himself also helped the Nazis. Although he carefully hides this fact of his biography, there is one man who knows the truth about him.
Straw Bells
1987
Behind the camera
8.2Kharkiv, the 1930s. The heyday of Ukrainian art. Ambitious young poet Vladimir Akimov happily settles in at the new luxury "Slovo" House built specifically for artists. He comes from the provinces and works as a proof-reader in a printing press, and has never even dreamed of living under one roof with prominent Ukrainian writers and artists. He thinks his own poetry is genius, but nobody takes his literary efforts seriously, not to mention the occasional chuckles over his epigone poems. But fate smiles at him. The head of the political intelligence agency suggests that he become the author of a play written earlier. Akimov agrees, signing a non- disclosure note. The poet has no idea what price he will pay for this success. “‘Slovo’ House” is a story about a generation of Ukrainian artists persecuted by the totalitarian system, unfolding against the backdrop of one of the largest genocides of the 20th century: the Holodomor, which caused the death of almost 7 million people.
“Slovo” House. Unfinished Novel
2024
NRLiuba and Andrii, two war veterans bearing both physical wounds and the invisible scars of PTSD, find solace in each other as they navigate the long road to recovery. Their bond offers a fragile hope for healing, but as they confront the lasting impact of trauma and the challenge of rebuilding their lives, their connection is tested in a quiet, deeply human struggle for love, strength, and renewal.
The Fatigued
2026
NRDocumentary hommage to Sergey Parajanov on the occasion of his 100 anniversary. Witness the blend of unique archive material with surrealistic puppetry scenes, seamlessly blurring the lines between imagination and reality.
A Sentimental Journey to the Parajanov Planet
2025
NRIn the near future, the main character Alice finds herself on a deserted island. To survive, she relies on the superintelligence of an artificial advisor — the size of a pea, which is inserted into her ear. This becomes the starting point for reflecting on the consequences of human dependence on technology.
Ideal Friend
2025
After a young soldier named Stas is wounded in battle, the doctors perscribe him an urgent heart condition and find a potential donor in Hnat, an elderly man who wishes for his life to be over. However, Hnat's daughter Natalka does not want her father to perish, even if it means saving someone else's life.
Wolfram
—
After a young soldier named Stas is wounded in battle, the doctors perscribe him an urgent heart condition and find a potential donor in Hnat, an elderly man who wishes for his life to be over. However, Hnat's daughter Natalka does not want her father to perish, even if it means saving someone else's life.
Wolfram
—
The great war — in all its manifestations of death and the thirst for life, the sorrow of loss and the happiness of those who survived, the relationships between friends and enemies, children and parents, people and animals, entire worlds — cannot be captured in a single story. That is why this film will unfold in several novellas, united by the theme of war that has become our life.
Livin'
2026

