Oko (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Oko is a 17-minute French short that blends drama, documentary and horror as Aleksandre Zharaya revisits a mother’s photographs, her youth in Russia and a present shaped by cults, rituals and propaganda. The film uses reenactment and autofiction to examine family history from an intimate perspective.

Oko is a French short film that crosses drama, documentary and horror. Written and directed by Aleksandre Zharaya, it centers on a daughter or son revisiting a mother’s past through photographs and reenactment.

At 17 minutes, the film approaches family history through images of Russia, a colorful yoga club and a present marked by different cults, gurus, rites and sacrifices. Its premise combines documentary elements with experimental and autofictional ideas.

Oko movie details

Story without spoilers

The film begins with strange images found in the narrator’s mother’s photo album. Among them are snapshots of her youth in Russia, including time spent inside a colorful yoga club. In the present, the mother gives herself to other cults, each associated with propaganda, rituals, gurus and sacrifice.

Rather than simply observing this history, the narrator takes on the mother’s role. This act of reenactment becomes a way to understand her—or possibly to exorcize what that history represents. The story therefore links personal memory, family history and the performance of identity without revealing how the film resolves its central tension.

What to expect

Oko can be approached as an experimental short built around family memory and the instability of inherited stories. Its listed genres point to a deliberately hybrid form: documentary observation, dramatic reenactment and horror-inflected material coexist within a compact 17-minute structure.

The supplied keywords also place emphasis on autofiction, cults, Russia and family history. Viewers can expect the film to use the narrator’s personal connection to its subject as part of its method, with role-playing serving as the main bridge between the past and the present.

Cast and creative team

Aleksandre Zharaya writes and directs Oko and plays the role of Mother. David Owen Brugeilles appears as Guru, Stanislas Briche as Yogi, and Ohniana Kondrachuk as Cultist. The film’s cast and authorship reflect its close relationship between personal perspective, performance and reenactment.

• Aleksandre Zharaya as Mother
• David Owen Brugeilles as Guru
• Stanislas Briche as Yogi
• Ohniana Kondrachuk as Cultist

Release and production context

Oko is a 2026 production from France, made with Le Fresnoy. It is listed as released on September 20, 2026, and has a runtime of 17 minutes. The spoken language is French. The film is categorized as Drama, Documentary and Horror.

Production companies: Le Fresnoy

Movies Dock view

With its short runtime and hybrid genre identity, Oko presents a focused exploration of family history, cult imagery and the attempt to inhabit another person’s past. Its central device—playing the role of the mother—gives the film an explicitly personal and experimental point of departure.

Film data:
TMDB