A Winnipeg musician says working on a new documentary film about the impact of the war in Ukraine has changed her life.
Voices of Freedom, which premieres at the Park Theatre on Aug. 15, follows Tetyana Haraschuk, who is primarily known as a jazz drummer and composer, as she interviews refugees and hears personal stories about the war.
“When the war first started, I felt very powerless and helpless, and I wanted to do something,” she told Global Winnipeg.
“I started thinking, I’m a musician. I want to write some music. I want to tell the story of this war, of the people … of my people.”
Haraschuk, who composed the music for the film as well as being its subject, said she connected with local production company Ice River Films, and her idea of creating music inspired by Ukrainians’ struggle turned into something much larger and more profound.
“This project has been the biggest project in my life so far. It’s been a crazy emotional journey,” she said.
“It’s changed my life, it’s changed the way that I understand the world, that I understand people, that I understand my own culture, and I think it’s given me hope in the potential for change.”
Ice River Films’ Andrew Wiens said he and his filmmaking partner, Sam Karney, felt a connection to the subject matter as well.
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“Winnipeg has this deep history attached to Ukraine, and we had the same feeling that Tetyana had,” Wiens said.
“(The feeling that) we need to do something, use our skills to communicate, and really as filmmakers, to be able to tell a human story that connects people, makes people care.
“How can we tell that story from over here without putting ourselves in a war zone?”
Wiens said Haraschuk deserves a lot of credit, and that the filmmakers really just followed her on her journey.
“What’s really neat about the doc is that it really is a very personal story to Tetyana and the people she meets along the way, but it feels like it has a global reach.
“It’s heartwarming despite these difficult things. I think it also speaks to the power of art to be a positive force in the world.”
Voices of Freedom premiers Aug. 15 at the Park Theatre. The screening is a free but ticketed event, with limited tickets available online at ticketweb.ca.