The Pledge

A police officer vows to find a killer for a victim. To locate a suspect who may never reveal themselves, the officer decides to use a young woman as bait. This Ukrainian production blends elements of crime, drama, mystery, and thriller into a short ten-minute narrative.

Written, produced, and directed by Zakhar Shestiaiev, the film followed his previous work, Calypso, which was released in 2025. The cast features Vladyslav Mylenkyi as Matvii and Oleksandra Bilynets as Maria, with additional roles played by Bogdan Vakulenko, Anton Potiekhin, Tamara Myshunina, and Oleksandr Levytskyi. The project was created through a collaboration between Dmytro Tomashpolskyi's workshop Centaurs and the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television University. It was released on June 7, 2026.