Sasha Poberailo
Sasha (Oleksandr) Poberailo is a Ukrainian producer, filmmaker, and researcher of interactive cinema based in Kharkiv. Since 2008 he has made independent features, shorts, and web series; his debut feature is Yoshlochka (2010). He holds a Doctor of Arts degree and lectures at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KhDAK); his master’s thesis Interactive Cinema: History, Typology, Artistic Techniques received an honorary diploma from the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine. He builds the FMV prototype FMV-01.
Born 9 January 1984, he grew up in Konotop and moved to Kharkiv in 2001. He began shooting underground cinema in 2008. The debut short New Life (2009) and debut feature Yoshlochka (2010, grindhouse) established a multi-hyphenate practice — directing, writing, producing, shooting, and cutting his own work. In 2011 he organised the Bommer Brothers Film Club at the Bommer Theatre; in 2015 he released the web series Dirty Russian.
He holds a Doctor of Arts degree and teaches at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KhDAK). His research on interactive cinema covers history, typology, analysis models, DVD-era interactive films, VR storytelling, and game-films. His Master’s thesis Interactive Cinema: History, Typology, Artistic Techniques received an honorary diploma from the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine. His open practice-based project, the KVANT 1993 Archive, is unpacked method by method in a separate worked-example guide.
Cinema, for him, is both a big-screen art form and a tool for online communication — systems the audience can enter, not only watch.
In short
- Producer · Filmmaker · Researcher of interactive cinema
- Kharkiv, Ukraine
- Doctor of Arts
- Lecturer, Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KhDAK)
- 2008 — independent features, shorts, web series
- 0009-0003-8259-4921
Filmography
Thirteen titles as director, producer, writer, cinematographer, or editor — the full list with credits and watch links lives in the filmography:
| Year | Title | Role | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Terrible Brilliant | Director | Feature · Independent |
| 2015 | Dirty Russian | Director | Web series · 6 episodes |
| 2010 | Yoshlochka | Director | Feature · Grindhouse |
| 2016 | Ukrainian Wrestling Reality | Director | Documentary short |
| 2016 | Play Alone | Director | Short · Psychological drama |
| 2016 | Sweetness | Director | Short · Ukrainian dialogue |
| 2015 | And Saturday Again | Director | Short · Drama |
| 2014 | Echo-Request | Director | Feature pilot · Post-apocalypse |
| 2012 | Lucy in the Sky with Stars | Director | Short · City Stories · Romance |
| 2012 | It Seems… | Director | Short · Comedy · City Stories |
| 2011 | I've Ordered You Some Coffee | Director | Short · City Stories |
| 2010 | More Coffee, Less Sugar | Director | Short · Comedy · Anthology |
| 2009 | New Life | Director | Short · Debut · B&W |
Research
Peer-reviewed articles and a master’s thesis on interactive cinema, branched narrative, and audiovisual theory. Full list with abstracts in the research section; profiles: ORCID and ResearchGate.
- Interactive Cinema: History, Typology, Artistic Techniques
- Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Interactive Cinema: A Systematization of International Discourse
- The Genre Specificity of Interactive Cinema
- Interactive DVD Movies: Examples and How They Worked
- 3DO FMV Games: 12 Titles and 3 Video Strategies
- The Evolution of Cut Scenes in Interactive Audiovisual Narrative: Classification of Functions and Characteristics
- Game-Films as a Progressive Form of Interactive Narrative
Interactive projects and lab
Beyond linear film: an FMV game prototype, an authoring tool for interactive films, and the AI reconstruction of Dovzhenko’s lost debut:
- FMV-01 — cyberpunk noir FMV game
A hybrid interactive FMV prototype in Unity: video cutscenes plus still frames with hotspot choices.
- FMV Builder
A studio for interactive films (FMV) and visual novels: a branching-narrative editor with an NLE-style project room.
- Vasya the Reformer
Research and educational web project: AI reconstruction of Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s lost debut film «Вася-реформатор» (VUFKU, Odesa, 1926).
- BOMMER-FEST 2010: 48 Hours of Indie Cinema at Bommerъ
First international film festival at Kharkiv’s historic Cinema Bommerъ: a 48-hour continuous programme of independent, documentary, animation, and experimental cinema from over 30 countries.
- Bommer Brothers Film Club
Film club organised at the Bommer Theatre in Kharkiv in 2011.
- Digital Dawn & cyberpunk web experiments
Цифровий Рассвіт / Digital Dawn — short-form cyberpunk-noir for the feed: numbered episodes (1–3) plus teaser beats (Alone City Walking, Maniac Scene, Night Fire, Dangerous Meeting).
Teaching
Six semester modules on photographic art, videography, and audiovisual production — including Interactive Cinema: Theory, Practice, and AI Methodologies:
Festivals and community
In 2010 he organised BOMMER-FEST — the first international film festival at Kharkiv’s historic Bommerъ cinema (48 hours of continuous screenings, 100+ films from 30 countries). In 2011 he founded the Bommer Brothers Film Club there — two years of watching and studying world cinema.
Name variants
The name appears in sources under several spellings, all referring to the same person: Sasha Poberailo and Oleksandr Poberailo (ResearchGate), Olexander Poberailo (journal articles), Alexander Poberailo (anglicised); in Ukrainian — Олександр or Саша Поберайло; in Russian transliteration — Александр Поберайло.
Contacts and profiles
The fastest way to reach him is the contact form or hello@poberailo.name. Profiles and archives:
Press
Oleksandr (Sasha) Poberailo is a Ukrainian producer, filmmaker, and researcher of interactive cinema, based in Kharkiv. He has made independent features, shorts, and web series since 2008, and publishes on interactive narrative, FMV, DVD-era experiments, and VR storytelling.
- Oleksandr (Sasha) Poberailo
- Kharkiv, Ukraine