Slated to premiere in the TIFF Docs section, “Black Sunflowers” portrays a young generation of Ukrainians, soldiers and civilians, whose coming of age is shaped by martial law and duty on the front lines. As another year of conflict stretches on, Haney captures the ordinary moments amid the war, moving between fast cars, underground clubs and conversations about the future.
The American filmmaker closely collaborated with a Ukrainian production team led by Volodymyr Yatsenko at Limelite (“To the Victory!”), alongside a local crew.
“Upon arriving to Ukraine, I was surprised to see how much normal life carried on, despite the war,” Haney said. “While the scenes we see in Western media (bombed out villages, injured soldiers, etc) are true and must be seen by the world, I couldn’t help but think that mainstream media is missing half of the story.”
“While the front lines footage is harrowing and necessary to show, the things, places, and people worth fighting for, and their everyday stories in extraordinary circumstances, are generally omitted from Western news,” he continued.
Haney said he recognized himself in many of the young Ukrainians he met, who shared the same dreams, musical tastes and youthful impulses as people elsewhere their age, even as they faced both the realities of war and its psychological toll. He said he hoped the film would bring a more human dimension to the conflict and remind audiences how much people across the world have in common.
A music photographer and filmmaker, Haney is best known for the 2014 documentary “No Cameras Allowed,” which grew out of his experiences sneaking into major music festivals including Coachella and filming artists backstage. He also directed the music-tour documentary “Austin to Boston.”
