# Rock, Paper, Scissors (2024 film)

Rock, Paper, Scissors is a 2024 British short film directed by Franz Böhm and produced by Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer with the lead role was played by Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi. The Ukrainian and Russian-language film explores the human cost of war, focusing on the emotional and psychological impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film won the Best British Short Film category at the 2025 BAFTA Awards
A British production, Rock, Paper, Scissors premiered at the Show Me Shorts Film Festival in New Zealand on 13th October 2024, an Academy Award®-qualifying festival. It later screened at several prestigious international festivals, including the British Urban Film Festival, Aesthetica Film Festival, Cambridge Film Festival, and Norwich Film Festival in the UK. It also gained recognition at the St. Louis International Film Festival in the United States, where it was nominated for the Audience Award for Best Live Action Short Film, another Oscar-qualifying category.
The film’s soundtrack has been nominated for Best Original Score in the Short Film (Live Action) category at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2024.

## Synopsis

Based on a true story - A father and son running a makeshift hospital on the front line of war, face a tough decision when a platoon of soldiers approaches their building. They must find a way to protect both their patients and themselves.

## Plot

The Beginning of Russia's Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine. A young man, Ivan, living in eastern Ukraine, awaits an evacuation vehicle alongside his father, a surgeon operating on wounded soldiers and civilians in a frontline hospital.
However, the evacuation transport is destroyed by Russian aviation. Through radio communication, Ivan receives intelligence from Ukrainian scouts that two Russian soldiers are approaching the bunker, and sending a new transport is impossible. Ivan takes a sniper rifle from a wounded soldier, preparing to eliminate the Russians.
Looking through the sniper scope, Ivan realizes that there are not two but eight enemy soldiers. Understanding that he cannot neutralize them all, he decides to shoot himself in the leg, posing as a pro-Russian local resident to divert the Russians away from the hospital.
However, the Russians are already aware of the hospital's location, and Russian aviation destroys the building along with all the civilians inside.
The film's closing credits reveal that after the destruction of the hospital and the death of his father, Ivan joined the military and was killed in combat in 2023.

## Main Cast

* Oleksandr Rudynsky as Ivan
* Sebastian Anton as Sergei
* Oleksandr Yatsenko as Anatoly
* Sergey Kalantay as Bohdan
* Milosh Luchanko as Andryi
* Yuri Radionov as Mykola
* Aleksandr Begma as Aerial Commandar

## Production

The film is an NFTS and Who’s Here? Films production filmed in the United Kingdom and Wales. Produced by Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer, with the support of production manager Jade Way, and production coordinator Adrianna Saetta. ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ was shot in summer of 2023 with an all Ukrainian cast and completed in late 2024.

## Release

The film had its world premiere at the Oscar-qualifying ‘Show Me Shorts’ festival in New Zealand and its UK premiere at the British Urban Film Festival, both in October 2024.

## Accolades

| Festival | Date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Show Me Shorts | 31 October 2024 | Best International Film (Oscar Qualifying) | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |
| British Urban Film Festival | 25 October 2024 | Official Selection | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |
| Cambridge Film Festival | 31 October 2024 | Honourable Mention | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Won |
| St. Louis International Film Festival | 13 November 2024 | Best Live Action Short Film (Oscar Qualifying) | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |
| Norwich Film Festival | 16 November 2024 | Best Student Film | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 20 November 2024 | Best Score – Short Film (Live Action) | Marcin Mazurek | Nominated |
| Max Ophüls Film Festival | 25 January 2025 | Short Film Competition | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |
| The British Short Film Awards | 26 January 2025 | Best Foreign Language Short Film | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |
| BAFTA Film Awards | 16 February 2025 | Best British Short Film | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Won |
| Manchester Film Festival | 20 March 2025 | Official Selection | Rock, Paper, Scissors | Nominated |