Slava: Shooting With Music
Silence the guns and let the music play!
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk is the lead singer of Okean Elzy, Ukraine’s most successful rock band. He is a former politician and activist who has a PhD in theoretical physics. Slava has been compared to Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney and his songs are an important part of Ukrainian identity, part of the country’s cultural DNA. He is now channeling his talents to liberate his country.
After completing more than 200 concerts for the troops, Slava was encouraged to take his band on a worldwide tour in order to bolster the morale of Ukrainian refugees living abroad. An international coalition of artists stepped-up to support them including Coldplay. Another reason for the tour was to leave a lasting legacy in the minds of the rest of the world of Ukrainian culture – a unique culture Russia has been trying to eradicate for centuries.
The film documents the creative process behind Slava’s music. It also seeks to understand what inspires him artistically, both before the invasion, and in the challenging times his country faces now.
The film will make its world premiere at PÖFF.
Biography
Jacqui Morris began her career as a casting director, before working with her brother David Morris on biopic documentary “McCullin” about war photographer, Don McCullin. In 2018 Jacqui and David Morris was made striking documentary about extraordinary life of Rudolf Nureyev (“Nureyev: Lifting the Curtain”). “Shooting with Music” is her sixth full-length documentary.
Filmography
Mr. Right (2009, co-dir), McCullin (2012, doc, co-dir), Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime (2014, doc, co-dir), Nureyev (2018, doc, co-dir), A Christmas Carol (2020), Shooting with Music (2026, doc)
Screenings
