Roses. Film-Cabaret

synopsis

The documentary, shot in a cinéma vérité style, follows the Dakh Daughters – a cabaret ensemble of seven actresses operating as a segment of the experimental Dakh Theatre in Kyiv. The video diary spans nearly five years and follows the Dakh Daughters from their first pop song “Rozy / Donbas,” written long before the Donbas region became war-torn and ravaged by the “Russian Spring.” How can one be an artist under extreme conditions and in times of loss and pain? Does creation in the sense of art and motherhood become a natural self-defense mechanism in times of war? The film was finished before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, yet its feminine viewpoint is a striking commentary on current events.

biography

After studying sound art, Ukrainian director Irena Stetsenko established a long-standing collaboration with the Dakh Daughters, for whom she has shot a number of short-length documentaries. In 2017, she graduated in documentary direction from the Sergey Bukovsky Film Program. In her feature-length debut, Roses. Film-Cabaret (2021), she revisits musical themes of the Dakh Theatre.

more about film

director:	Irena Stetsenko
producer:	Oleksandra Kravchenko, Oleg Sosnov, Vitality Sheremetiev, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna
script:	Irena Stetsenko
photography:	Serhiy Stetsenko
editing:	Mykola Bazarkin
sound:	Maria Nesterenko

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