I Am a Rock


2024; HD-video, 16:9: stereophonic audio; 03:50
By Teta TsybulnykMusic: Maksym Razdobudko (based on “I Am a Rock” by Simon & Garfunkel)
Shot in Kärdla, Hiiumaa island, Estonia in November 2023with care and companionship of KORDONair, Ingel Vaikla, Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla, Urmo Vaikla, Ann Mirjam Vaikla, Rasmus Jensen, Jaan Tootsen, Elias
In the speechless wilderness, a rock is a rock is a rock. In the human realm of language, a rock can be many things — say, a meteorite. We drag it into the symbolic order to represent something different from itself. A rock then acquires a discourse — it can speak, signify, oscillate between meanings. There is a model of the Kärdla crater with a rock in the middle — or perhaps two rocks: one identical to itself, the other one elevated to the status of a meteorite. In a playful homage to Magritte and Simon & Garfunkel, the film explores the paradoxical relationship between nature, representation and language.
Awards:Special Mention — Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin, Short Film Competition, 2026"The jury’s special mention goes to a film that made a daring move toward a new form. Its subtle irony and minimalist, stylish solution impressed us. The director managed to create and sustain a tension between image and text throughout the film. Its protagonist is very unusual, and by returning agency to nature, the film lets us see the world from a different perspective, if only for a few minutes. We now know that even a rock can doubt and sing rock songs." Public screenings:16–18.10.2026 at Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin, Berlin, Germany22.09.2026 as part of language at play, language at fault programme, Kyiv International Short Film Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine13–20.09.2026 at Filma. Feminist Film Festival (online)12.09.2026 as part of Lull: An Environmental Film Program, Ukrainian Urban Forum, Cherkasy, Ukraine6–10.06.2026 as part of DOCU/SYNTHESIS Interdisciplinary Art Programme, Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine01.08.2024 within a retrospective at the third KORDON Art Film Festival (KOFF) in Kärdla, Hiiumaa island, Estonia