"I am a video producer and my job requires me to be a control freak. Almost every minute of my work is timed with the utmost precision. That’s how I lived my life - very organized. I always had a plan. But nothing has been the same since February 24."
Dasha Deriagina is part of the Shelter.Film collective, which was founded three years ago in Kyiv — a spelling she insists on, as it reflects the Ukrainian name, not the Russian one. The agency specializes in producing advertisements and music videos, with clients including artists like Dua Lipa, Muse, and Apparat.
When Putin launched his campaign of mass murder in Ukraine at the end of February, members of Shelter.Film dispersed across Europe. They are now working to rebuild their company from various locations across the continent.
Dasha, where in Ukraine are you from?
I was born in Bucha, but I’ve lived my whole life in Kyiv. When I was growing up, Bucha was a wild and undeveloped area. In recent years, however, it has transformed into a modern city. Now, we call it our national grave—because so many unimaginable atrocities and massacres have taken place there in the past few years.
During our last conversation, you said: "Our dreams have been replaced by news, our music by sirens, our fashion by army gear." I get goosebumps when I think about it.
Yes, there are days when I can’t believe what’s happening — I can hardly accept it as reality. I pray every day for Ukraine to become a free country again, and I’m incredibly proud of this brave nation. The people defending our freedom are true heroes.
I used to listen to a lot of Russian hip hop. And although, of course, it has nothing to do with the individual artists, I just don't want to hear the Russian language right now. In the first few days after arriving in Berlin, I couldn’t listen to any music at all - I just had the news running non-stop. The reports of Ukrainian cities being bombed were driving me almost insane. Eventually, I had to turn the music back on.
What is the biggest challenge in your everyday life here in Germany?
Not having a private space. I live in a different place every few weeks right now, always with friends of friends. In Kyiv, I had my own apartment, my cat, my daily rhythm. Sure, I miss my comfort zone, but at least I'm safe and can try to build a new life here.
We first met at a party, and in our first conversation you said: "When I was packing my things, it was difficult to decide what to take because I didn't know when I’d be going back, or if the house where I once lived would still be there." What did you actually take with you?
By the way, I still don’t know if my house was bombed or destroyed, but I try not to think about it. Of course, I brought clothes with me, but also spiritual things: perfume, candles, crystals, tarot cards. It all fit into one suitcase. What helps me at the moment is drinking the same tea every morning that I used to drink at home in Kyiv. What I really want to say right now is: appreciate what you have, and don’t forget to tell your parents you love them!
Every person I know who has been to Kyiv has talked about Club ∄ (K41) and how special the vibe was there.
∄ is our temple of techno—but above all, it is a temple of love. It’s a world that’s difficult to access, but completely free on the inside. That’s because we Ukrainians are an open-hearted and hospitable nation. You could always feel that there.
Can you tell us somthing about Shelter.Film?
Our company was founded three years ago, now we have 15 employees. Last year was incredibly sucessfull for us, we shot music videos for Apparat and commercials for clients like Coca Cola and developed a short film with Ukrainian symbols for Balenciaga. In December we started to feel the mood shifting and one job after the other got cancelled. People were reading about the political situation in the news and insurance companies were not backing projects anymore. At the time we thought it was propaganda, but unfortunately they were right. Now the Shelter crew is spread all over Europe, in Tibilisi we are currently trying to rebuild our headquaters.
I admire your positive energy, despite everything you’ve had to go through in the last few months.
You know, despite all the suffering, despite all the thoughts of my homeland, which are like constant noise in my head, I feel for the first time in my life that we Ukrainians are proud of our country - and get a lot of solidarity from the rest of Europe. Everyone sees how strong we are and that you have to fight for your freedom. Especially when I was abroad, I had the feeling that many people knew little about Ukraine, but thanks to the daily reports, our country is no longer so far away, so foreign. Now I see Ukrainian art everywhere, finally my country gets the attention, it deserves.
