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Stories about sole astronauts roaming space have been told many times. Hollywood made a few, including two recent-ish blockbusters, Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” (2013) and Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” (2015). What distinguishes Ukrainian filmmaker Pavlo Ostrikov’s “U Are the Universe” is that it’s really a compassionate love story. The framework might be futuristic, but the emotions on display are as old as the human race. The film explores how its lead finds solace in his life while opening his heart to love, when faced with the finality of existence. The themes are expansive, but the film owes its success to the peculiarity of the situation it presents.

In an unspecified future, Ukrainian trucker Andriy Melnyk (Volodymyr Kravchuk) is sent by a waste disposal company on missions to Castillo, Jupiter’s moon. What he’s tasked to dispose of — or the particulars of what happened on Earth to lead to...

Rome-based sales company True Colours has picked up the Ukrainian sci-fi dramedy “U Are the Universe,” written and directed by Pavlo Ostrikov, which will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in the Discovery section.

“U Are the Universe” centers on Ukrainian space trucker Andriy Melnyk. After Earth explodes, he thinks he is the last person in the universe until he receives a call from Catherine, a French woman on a distant space station. Despite the obstacles, Andriy decides to find her.

In a statement, Ostrikov said: “‘U Are the Universe’ is a story about the last love in the universe. In each of my films, I look for love, because it is the highest human value. The best thing in the whole universe. It can be painful, but usually brings great joy.

“It is important for me to tell this story because I see myself in the main character.