A short Ukrainian film directed by Oleksii Pasichnyk, Teacher’s Day presents an intense psychological confrontation unfolding almost entirely inside a confined elevator space, where themes of trauma, guilt, revenge, and moral responsibility collide.

The story follows a respected teacher and two young women who become trapped inside an elevator. As the tension escalates, it is gradually revealed that the women were victims of abuse in their childhood and have deliberately orchestrated this encounter years later in order to force the man into a filmed confession.

What begins as psychological pressure slowly transforms into a disturbing moral dilemma after the man suffers a heart attack, leaving the women faced with the decision of whether to save his life or abandon him to his fate.

The screenplay relies heavily on gradual revelation, emotional tension, and layered character construction. Rather than offering simple moral positions, the film builds a complex psychological space where guilt, trauma, justice, and revenge continuously overlap.

Despite taking place within a limited physical environment, the script maintains strong dramatic rhythm and escalating emotional intensity until its final moments, transforming a confined setting into a deeply charged cinematic experience.

At the 4th edition of the Kobani International Film Festival in 2023, Yılmaz Güney Edition – Part 2, the film received the Best Screenplay Award in recognition of its psychological structure and dramatic precision.

Film Information

• Original Title: Teacher’s Day
• Director: Oleksii Pasichnyk
• Screenplay: Oleksii Pasichnyk & Anastasiia Lezhnova
• Production Year: 2021
• Country: Ukraine
• Duration: 18 min 21 sec
• Format: Short Film
• Genre: Drama / Psychological / Thriller

About the Screenwriters

Oleksii Pasichnyk

Oleksii Pasichnyk is a Ukrainian filmmaker and creative director with more than twenty years of experience in television promotion and advertising filmmaking. Throughout his career, he received over 140 awards in advertising and television festivals.

Teacher’s Day marks his first major short fiction film as both director and screenwriter. His cinematic approach focuses on psychological tension, dramatic escalation, and emotionally confined spaces.

Anastasiia Lezhnova

Anastasiia Lezhnova is a Ukrainian screenwriter and actress who co-wrote the screenplay and performed one of the leading roles in the film. She studied graphic design and media economics in Kyiv and worked on several short-form cinematic writing projects before participating in Teacher’s Day.

Her contribution to the screenplay helped shape the emotional and psychological dimensions of the female characters, giving the film a balanced tension between emotional vulnerability and moral confrontation.