Mixmag reports that the soundtrack to ‘Black Sunflowers’, a film by American director James Marcus Haney (the director of the documentary ‘No Cameras Allowed’), also features tracks by Sega Bodega, Four Tet and Fred again.. According to Haney, music was the way he connected with some of the protagonists, and the music featured on the film’s soundtrack is also what they listen to in their everyday lives
Among the other artists whose music will feature in the film are Brian Eno, Morphine, Ann Annie, Marwan and VIA 229. The tracks will be complemented by original music from composer Brad Oberhofer (‘The Andy Warhol Diaries’) and Ukrainian electronic musician Koloah.
According to the director, the team wanted the film’s soundtrack to reflect the tastes of its main characters, so they brought together tracks by Ukrainian, Western European and American artists.
‘The film is a tapestry of protagonists, and so too is the score and its creators… I wanted to incorporate just as much of the Western culture music in the fabric of the film as the Ukrainian music, to better represent just how globally-influenced this young generation of Ukrainians are’, Haney explains.
The film is concluded by the track ‘Do Not Go Quietly Unto Your Grave’ by the band Morphine, performed by a folk choir from Kyiv.
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About ‘Black Sunflowers’
‘Black Sunflowers’ tells the story of Ukrainian youth ‘balancing between the front line and civilian life’. The film premiered in the documentary program of the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film follows the story of Ivan, a military driver who organizes street races when he is off duty; a young combat veteran with an amputation who ‘finds a sense of freedom at raves despite his running blade’; and Nikoletta, a young woman who swapped nature photography for war photography.
‘The film embodies a youthful spirit as it shifts between eclectic settings, from an underground dance club to a frontline barracks to a countryside swimming hole. We get to experience this generation in all its complexity as people grapple with tragedy, duty, disillusionment, and yearning for a better future’, the festival’s website says.
Recalling his first visit to Ukraine, director James Marcus Haney says he was surprised by how much ‘normal life carried on despite the war’.
‘I’ve met an electronic DJ who enlisted in the army and still performs back home when he is on leave. A nature photographer turned war journalist. Teenagers who now already have 2.5 years of combat experience at the zero line. Lovers pulled apart to different battlegrounds. And as I looked into these faces, I couldn’t help but see parts of myself’, he tells Variety.
Among the producers of ‘Black Sunflowers’ are Ukrainians Yevhenii Zdorovylo and the husband-and-wife team Volodymyr and Anna Yatsenko (‘U Are the Universe’). One of the executive producers is Sean Penn, who has supported Ukraine by covering the war through film projects.
