88-year-old director Villen Novak, who created more than a dozen films during his 55-year career, died in Odessa.. According to preliminary information, on Saturday, March 28, the filmmaker became ill. His heart stopped beating on Sunday night.
The tragic news was confirmed by the Odessa branch of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine. “Domestic art has suffered an irreparable loss,” Novak’s colleagues wrote on Facebook.
Film critic Evgeny Zhenin, who was friends with the deceased for many years, said that the day before Novak felt ill. Doctors tried to save him, but were unable to.
“On that Saturday, when it was necessary to change the clocks to “new time,” late in the evening there was an ambulance at the entrance where Vilya lived. He was taken to the hospital. At night, already according to “new time”, he was gone. "
He was born on January 3, 1938 in the village of Glezne in the Zhytomyr region. He received his education in the capital, worked for a year at the Kyiv Film Studio named after. Dovzhenko. Then he moved to Odessa, and since 1972 he was the director of the Odessa Feature Film Studio.
Novak was recognized as an Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR and People's Artist of Ukraine. He had many awards, including the Order of Merit, III and II degrees.
Among the films we will name: “One Day in Autumn”, “Ring” (1973), “Red Diplomatic Couriers” (1977), “Tuning Fork” (1978), “Invasion” (1980), “Two Versions of the Same Collision” (1985), “It’s Not Always Summer in Crimea” (1987), “Goo-Ga” (1989), “Wild Love” (1993, box office leader.
His film “The Princess on the Beans” became the leader of the 1997 film box office and received 10 festival awards, four of which were at international film festivals.
The latest film by Villen Zakharovich Novak - " This historical drama was recognized as the best at the Europe Film Festival (European Film Festival of Great Britain) and at the international film festival Future of Film Awards.
This is a story about 17-year-old Frosa and her beloved Lenchik. They dream of getting married, but the girl’s father is categorically against Jews in the family.
The lives of the main characters change when their loved ones and millions of other people become victims of World War II.
" However, his films, years and decades of friendship with him, bright and warm memory are with us,” noted the Odessa branch of NSKU.
– Oleg Zhivotkov, a famous Ukrainian graphic artist, painter and member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, passed away earlier.. The artist turned 93 in January..
– Ukrainian architect Yuri Shalatsky died in Warsaw (Poland). He passed away in his own apartment at the end of January 2026.