A Richly Flavored, Animated 'Kyiv Cake': Interview with Mykyta Lyskov
Vassilis Kroustallis
The 22-minute Ukrainian/Estonian short animation 'Kyiv Cake' by Mykyta Lyskov (produced by Joonisfilm, 2025) is the latest short animation depicting the Ukrainian experience before and after the Russian invasion. (The also acclaimed 'I Died in Irpin' by Anastasiia Falileieva is another example of a relationship tested during the same invasion).
Ukrainian animation director Mykyta Lyskov is no stranger to focusing on lived experiences; he did so in the 2019 short animation 'Deep Love' (which went on to win the Estonian PÖFF Shorts Grand Prix and an array of other awards). He has now presented a story about a family, titled after a famous Ukrainian dessert with hazelnuts and chocolate buttercream. Yet in the film, this cake only serves as a passport. This will be used for a man who needs to immigrate (pre-2022) to survive the financial crisis, a woman now caring for her family alone, and the son who grows up as a new danger arises.
The film has now been qualified for a European Academy Award (short film, via its win at ZINEBI – International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao) and is competing in the upcoming international competition at the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS, 5-10 May 2026).
We had a short talk with Mykyta Lyskov at Zippy Frames.
'Deep Love' and Ukraine before the invasion
Until 2022, I really thought that economic hardships in Ukraine were a big problem. Poverty, migration, and hard life destroy the family, do not give the opportunity to be closer, separating parents and children. But after 2022, these problems seem ridiculous to me; the war divided Ukrainian life into before and after. Now, money and comfort don't mean much when you can be killed at any second.
'Deep Love' was sarcastic. Most of the plot focuses on environmental problems, though there is also a premonition of war. Even though the two films are not related in plot or mood, they share the same location; it is one universe. One of the heroes (the father) came to the 'Kyiv Cake' out of 'Deep Love'. At one of the screenings of my films, a viewer once told me that in the 'Kyiv Cake', I killed the heroes from 'Deep Love'.
Deep Love
Watch 'Deep Love' and read our film review
Cinematic Challenges and Production Conditions
When the invasion began in 2022, I received 300 short animation films for a project I initiated called 'Putler Kaput' (an animation jam among animators, 10-second videos about Putin's death). Priit Pärn and Olga Pärn also took part, despite being very busy with their film 'Luna Rossa'. After that, a close relationship began between the three of us. I couldn't implement my script idea in Ukraine because state funding has been completely stopped. Priit and Olga suggested to me try to submit the project for financing in Estonia. The animation community in Tallinn knew me because 'Deep Love' won the PÖFF Shorts Grand Prix there in 2019. The Estonian Film Institute and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia agreed to finance the film. Since I cannot leave Ukraine (men are restricted from traveling abroad during the war), it was decided to work with the Joonisfilm studio online. I never met my producer, Kalev Tamm, in real life; we spoke only online.
The most difficult thing was to concentrate on work; there were shelling at night, one of the rockets hit the house of my relatives, they miraculously survived; I almost didn't sleep at night, and in the morning, the animators were waiting for me online. I had to give them new tasks and check the scenes they had already completed. Initially, I thought that the film would last 15 minutes, but it turned out to be 22 minutes. Kalev Tamm supported me, and we did more animation than was planned.
Characters, Script, and Scenes
The characters are revealed in turn (the father, the mother, the son); that was in the script from the very beginning. But a few details changed. For example, the moment with the fallen tooth, when the mother woke up and found her husband's fallen tooth on the floor, she picked it up, turned it in her hand, and put it in her mouth; she also had one tooth missing in the plot. But I had to let this funny moment go, as it led the story in a different direction. Also, the meter counters were more aggressive at first; one of them even bit off his father's hand. But I also removed this and made them more disgusting than aggressive.
The idea for the animated counter came to me while I was working on 'Deep Love'. I was living in a rented apartment at the time, and I had to take monthly photos of the meters and send them to my landlady so she could pay the bills. At some point, I began to feel afraid to go to the meter and check how much I'd been charged for gas and electricity. I realized the meter was an antagonist and a living being, and I had to incorporate that into the animation.
Ukrainian Representation: Post-Soviet Times at the Age of Globalization
Until 2022, everyday objects and people's behavior had remained unchanged for over 30 years of Ukrainian independence. And at the same time, many elements of globalization still seep in here. For me, it was always funny that there was poverty and broken roads on which expensive cars drove, couriers ran near Lenin's monuments, and people talked on cell phones. But since 2022, we have realized we were under the influence of propaganda and had believed fairy tales about friendship with Russia. Now this Soviet past needs to be reexamined and consigned to museums, and we need to return to our national roots. Otherwise, enemy culture will engulf us.
Russian Invasion, Life and Representation
I live in Dnipro, a huge city in central Ukraine. Things were a little easier here than in the capital. I bought batteries and a generator, investing heavily in them, so I could continue working during the power outages. Sometimes I thought there was no point in making an animation. But Olga and Priit Pärn assured me that Ukraine would definitely be the winner. In the credits, I even indicated them both as the S.U.A. squad (Save Ukrainian Animation squad)
Life is a crazy collage of different situations, some of which can be shown through symbols, but symbols are not suitable for everything. When I needed to depict the military threat of Russia attacking Ukraine in the film, I tried to draw an oil monster trampling the houses of civilians. But I eventually realized I couldn't come up with a more terrifying image than a real missile flying in the sky. Interpretation is good when it adds something to the plot and makes the situation more profound, but not here. I like that the film starts out as a stupid balls joke, then suddenly shifts and shocks the viewer with reality.
Between Narrative and Experimental Animation Work
In narrative animation, a lot depends on design and preparation, and teamwork is also challenging; the deadline is constantly pressing. That's why I sometimes make short abstract films without a plot or a budget, mostly painted on paper. [Here's the 'Imaginary Landscapes' film]. It's my break from narrative. After 'Kyiv Cake', I immediately started working on an abstract film, named 'Dots Plots', using watercolors on paper, and it's almost finished.
Next Steps
I have a plot for my next film in mind. But I've forbidden myself from working on it until the situation in the country changes; I can't handle working on a film under this kind of stress. I'm currently working as a college teacher in Dnipro, teaching animation, and co-writing a book on the history of Ukrainian animation with Chris Robinson.
Watch the 'Kyiv Cake' trailer:
About Mykyta Lyskov:
He was born in Dnipro (Ukraine). Graduated in 2012 from Kyiv National Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University (Director of animated film). Internationally acclaimed with his 2019 film ' Deep Love ' (Grand Prix DokLeipzig, PÖFF Shorts). Live in Dnipro, working as a teacher at Dnipro Art College.
'Kyiv Cake' screens in the International Competition programme at the 2026 Stuttgart Festival of International Film, 5-10 May 2026. It is also available on demand on the Ukrainian Takflix platform.
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