Marcel Gascon |
Kiev (EFE).- A documentary film tells in the first person, and with material recorded on the front by the same protagonists, the story of the members of the Ukrainian rock band Antytila, who joined the army of their country to defend it from the Russian invasion and ended up playing to the world with Bono and Ed Sheeran.
Presented to the media in Kiev, “Culture Against War” will be available for free online viewing worldwide on June 21 and recounts, with sometimes intimate material recorded by the artists themselves, how the Russian military aggression against Ukraine completely changed the life of the band’s leader, Taras Topolia, and two of his musicians.
“The film shows the courage of the Ukrainians, especially of the civilians who became soldiers because Russia invaded their country,” Topolia told Efe during the presentation, in which the musicians of the group Sergii Vusyk and Dmitró Zholud also participated.
On February 24 of last year, with the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, these three young Ukrainians left behind their lives as young street artists to become combat medics and help their army repel the occupying forces.
From anxiety to commitment
The tape shows with images of the first hours the anguish and panic created by the explosions of the Russian attack against Ukrainian cities where life went on exactly the same as in any other European city.
From the initial shock of the war, the film goes on to recount how the Topolia, Vusyk and Zholud run to join the army to help their country, a decision that the gang leader describes as “logical”.
“The film shows what it means to stand up for your rights, stand up for your principles when an invader attacks your country,” says Topolia.
The leader of Anytila stresses that Ukraine defends in this war “the same values and principles” with which the rest of Europe lives, and appeals to illustrate the life that he himself left behind, indistinguishable from that of many other young people his age. in any big city on the continent.
the cruelty of war
An important part of the documentary, which is looking for institutions that are willing to collaborate for its projection in Spain, shows the heroism and horrors of war through the experience of the musicians in the 130th Battalion of the Ukrainian army in the battles of Kiev and Kharkov.
In order to document as faithfully as possible this reality to which the West was slow to react, the protagonists wore professional cameras on their helmets and bulletproof vests, which gives the film the necessary realism to make the viewer understand the situation.
worldwide success
The fame that Anytila enjoyed in Ukraine before the invasion made her story reach the ears of world music stars such as Bono, who took an interest in the story of his young colleagues and ended up playing with them in March 2022 at Kiev metro.
Anytila captivated audiences around the world again in May 2022, when she recorded with international pop star Ed Sheeran a version of one of the young British musician’s greatest hits, “2Step”.
With the leading roles of Bono and Ed Sheeran in the documentary, its creators seek to attract a segment of the public that is not necessarily interested in international news and politics to the dramatic and heroic reality of the war in Ukraine.
The similarities between the pre-war reality of Topolia and the rest of the members of his group with that of many potential viewers throughout Europe seems a guarantee of identification with the tragedy and the cause of Ukrainian society.
The film is produced by Andrii Rizol and is part of a series of six documentaries produced by Alina Krasnianska and financed by the European Union featuring artists who have left their lives behind to join the Ukrainian resistance in order to continue living and creating. on freedom.