Serhii Mykhalchuk is an award-winning cinematographer who has worked on dozens of prestigious cinematic productions in his career, including no less than four Oscar-nominated movies. 

Yet, when Russia launched their full-scale war of aggression on Ukraine in late February 2022, the 51-year old Ukrainian filmmaker did not hesitate. Together with tens of thousands of others, he immediately volunteered to take up arms to defend his country from the invaders.

At the same time in early 2022, many other artists and creatives were volunteering to defend Ukraine. Photographers, poets, musicians, writers and filmmakers lined up to join the fight to protect democracy and freedom in Ukraine.

Creative community

Almost immediately, this creative community realised that they must record the war crimes committed by the Russians. They decided to document the widespread atrocities and communicate the battlefield struggles so that the world and future generations would know about it. Each artist would use their own talents even though they were engaged in the fighting, and there was no time to lose. 

“We understood that each day could be the last,” said Alina Krasnianska, an executive producer of the multi-media project called “Culture vs War.” She outlined the objectives for the project that united the creative talents of many diverse artists.

“We knew we had to document it for the foreign audience, to show the international community what is happening and to document it for the next generations,” she said.

Images from the battlefront

The Culture vs War experience includes video documentaries, photographic exhibitions, print, literature, music and more. The Culture Vs War photographic exhibition displays images from the battlefront taken by Mykhalchuk, and the husband & wife team of Vlada and Kostiantyn Liberov who volunteer as military photographers.

The documentary nature of their work is a representation of war as it happens on the front line. The photo exhibition conveys the overwhelming destructiveness of the enemy invaders, the heroic military struggles of the defenders, the grief and stress of the civilian victims of Russian aggression.

As leading professional creatives and artists, their production values are second-to-none. Their images bear witness to the mortal struggle of Ukrainians. The artistic skill employed has a terrible beauty that invites us to reflect on the essential humanity of the people under attack, rather than regard them merely as victims. These images reflect the courage and dignity of Ukraine’s defenders, their bewilderment and despair but, most of all, their defiance and their refusal to submit to aggression. 

Is it not absurd to be so creative (at such a high level) in the middle of the battle of your lives? 

Necessary and essential art

“It’s not absurd,” said Alina, pointing to other examples of creativity during tumultuous times. “It’s an historical fact that during the French Revolution of the 18th century, there was a huge upswing in musical theatre in France.” Many authors emerged from the French Revolution and while this documentary work of the war in Ukraine is not easy art, it is necessary and essential.

“We are knocking on different doors,” said Alina describing the conceptual approach. Some people engage with news, some like video, there are people who are easier to reach through poetry and some through music. Through Culture Vs War, no stone is left unturned by the Ukrainian creative community in their goal to reach as many people as possible. “And in that way, it’s working,” said Alina.

• To learn more about the artists and the project, follow the link to the homepage of Culture Vs War.
• Follow the link to see more war photography from Vlada and Kostiantyn Liberov.
• To see more documentaries (in many languages) from the Culture vs War documentary series, follow the link to the Culture Vs War Channel on YouTube.

Trailer: 'Culture vs war. Serhii Mykhalchuk' documentary