Private Project

War Songs

War Songs is a documentary musical which tells the story of war and pacifism through songs and melodies recorded in Mariupol from the end of 20th century to the beginning of 2022, when the city was erased and captured by Russia.

  • Sashko Protyah
    Director
  • Yulia Serdyukova
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Пісні про війну
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    47 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Ukraine
  • Country of Filming:
    Ukraine
  • Language:
    Russian, Ukrainian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, super 8mm, 16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sashko Protyah

Sashko Protyah (1978) is a film director and activist from Mariupol, Ukraine. He is a co-founder of Freefilmers, a collective of artists and filmmakers. In his films, he works with topics of memory, otherness, and alienation. His films have been screened at different events and venues, including Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Hungry Eyes festival, EVA International, Gwangju Biennale.

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Director Statement

I have alway been suspicious of songs, whether performed at family gatherings or played on streaming services. The repeatedness of refrains and choruses made me feel like I was stuck in a trap. All songs aim to be catchy, and I've always been afraid of that. Songs can make you repeat things forever, they make you hum melodies you don’t even like. And I belonged to a family where everyone had some kind of inclination to be a singer. I was trying to be different, and I listened to music that could only be associated with songs very remotely: noise, ambient, drone.
I happened to record quite a lot of songs during the years just before the Russian full-scale invasion. I also came across some videos with music played in the city by the occupiers. Suddenly all those potential earworms started to make up a meaningful collage for me. Maybe we sing songs because we lack the words or freedom to build a narrative? Maybe we conceal our confusion and vulnerability behind melodies and vocalising? Maybe there are certain things in history, painful and devastating, that can be understood and conveyed only through singing? And the rhythmic and melodic patterns of our songs are the only accurate testimony of what we've lived through? Presuming that these questions could lead me anywhere, I edited this film out of songs and notes - out of the materials that are normally missing in history books.