Yevhenii Leonovets is a Ukrainian director whose documentary short Introvert: Who Am I? began as a master's thesis at the Kyiv University of Culture — and became something far more personal. A film not about the world outside, but about the turbulence within.
Tell us about yourself and your work.
I'm Yevhenii Leonovets, the director of the documentary short Introvert: Who Am I? This project was my master's thesis at the Kyiv University of Culture. The film is about me — or more precisely, about my inner experiences, personal conflicts, and the dissonance I was trying to process through the screen.
Is this your first experience as a director?
Actually, it's my second step. The first was a documentary called Fake, which I made for my bachelor's defense. That film explored a completely different pole — the external world of manipulation. I showed the inner workings of "office workers": how call centers operate, how deception and fraud unfold. From exposing external lies in Fake, I moved toward searching for inner truth in Introvert.
"When you know every ingredient and see the entire process at the factory, the product no longer seems quite as special."
Does your professional background interfere with your own experience of watching films?
I would love to remain just a viewer — but it becomes increasingly difficult. When you're inside this field, you often find yourself "outside the game" — outside pure emotion and feeling. If you're a cinematographer, you instinctively evaluate the light, the composition, the camera movement. If you can't switch off in time, instead of a living story you see only technical staging. It's like ice cream production: when you know every ingredient and see the entire process at the factory, the product no longer seems quite as special. Because of this, I've nearly stopped watching films and series lately — I find it hard to discover something that makes me forget about the camera.
And yet — perhaps that same ability to see the "skeleton" of a film helps you create something genuinely honest?
Perhaps. It's a journey that continues. I'm grateful to have had the chance to share part of it through my film — and through this conversation.
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