W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

OZ: It’s a long-term observational film about a teen without a family. I met him at the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. He run there because his mother was deprived of parental rights and he didn’t want to end up in an orphanage. I decided to follow him till his maturity because I wanted to know what the future holds for children that are growing in a dysfunctional environment, without normal families, in state rehabilitation centers. The life of Roma, the protagonist, is a repetitive example of an urgent problem of social adaptation of children without a family. 

W&H: What drew you to this story?

OZ: I made my diploma film about children’s theater where actors were kids from dysfunctional environments. I decided to continue to follow the topic of children that are growing [up] without a family.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

OZ: I want the audience to walk in this kid’s shoes. I’ll be happy if people will pay more attention to the problem of children whose parents are deprived of parental rights all over the world. 

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

OZ: The biggest challenge was to find the right title for the film. The last title before we came up with “Outside” was “Me, a Knife and a Lighter.”

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made. 

OZ: At first IDFA Bertha Fund supported the film, then the Ukrainian Film State Agency.

We were pitching the project together with Ukrainian producers Darya Bassel and Viktoria Khomenko at all possible industry platforms and that’s how we found our co-producers from Netherlands and Denmark. Later co-producers got support from their national film funds.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

OZ: Interest to know the world and people better.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

OZ: The best advice when I was studying in film school was to choose documentary film direction but not fiction.

The worst advice was to choose a model profession.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

OZ: To find the right balance between job, family, and personal life. To find the right film crew that will support your vision. Do not work with people who don’t respect you and judge your decisions.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

OZ: “American Honey” by Andrea Arnold. When I’m watching her films I’m feeling it on my skin. Andrea conveys reality so subtly and sensually so I can live in the world of her characters for a long time. 

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how? 

OZ: The more relevant question for me now is how to adjust to the war that Russia started against the Ukrainian people. I’m Ukrainian and it’s very hard to live. It’s impossible to adjust. My people are suffering and dying each day, each moment from Russian terror. It is genocide! We are all here going through terrible collective traumas, so the Covid-19 pandemic is not so big a tragedy for us now as Russian killers and rapists.

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive?

OZ: I think the film industry is oriented on money nowadays — even so-called authors’ cinema. The circle of productions, funds, festivals, and sales is the circle of just business and politics.  How [did] we come to this point? [The priority of art should be to] raise up humanity, bring up awareness, and expand consciousness and free thought — but not to make money first. I think people who came to the film industry just to make money are the main problem behind discrimination.