YouTube, Sosiura, and Vladimir’s Blues

The expert of one of Kyiv digital marketing agencies, graduate from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Oleksandr Hontar shot a 57-second-long social video They Love Ukraine with an urge to love Ukraine. In this video, 12 foreigners from 9 countries recite lines from the poem “Love Ukraine” by Volodymyr Sosiura with Vladimir’s Blues by Max Richter playing in the background. Only during a few days, more than 155,000 people viewed this video, which is unprecedented success for a Ukrainian social film.

“I decided to shoot this video, because I, as well as millions of other Ukrainians, acutely feel the lack of quality patriotic content on the Internet and television. There either are no social videos that would draw attention, intrigue, and stir up emotions, or they are not broadcasted,” told Hontar The Day. “But as a matter of fact, you don’t even need a huge budget to shoot a video that would tug at heartstrings. I am sure I managed to prove it, comments to the video on YouTube are an evidence of that.

“The video features 12 almost random foreigners from 9 countries, who I met during this year. The first four are people whom I personally hosted within the CouchSurfing program [one of the world’s largest guest networks, the participants of which share free sleeping space with each other and organize joint tours during travels. – Author], and others are students from European technical universities who came to Ukraine within exchange programs. I explained to the people starring what exactly I wanted to shoot, and presented a translation of the content of Sosiura’s poem into English to each one of them. Some learned their lines by heart, some just repeated them after me. All participants of the shooting loved the idea of the film, because they admitted they really fell in love with our country.”

What do you think the quality patriotic content should look like?

“There are many various possible options, but the main condition is for it to be based on an interesting idea. Also, it is no less important that a person who shoots such videos genuinely loves and respects Ukraine. If this is not provided, even talented directors with considerable financing will not capture quality patriotic stories. Creators of content for Internet or television have to live with Ukraine in their hearts. Unfortunately, there are almost no patriotic social projects in our country. Social ads on TV also leave much to be desired. Perhaps, this is a result of the general lack of intellectual Ukrainian product in the country, be it newspapers, books, or films. I am convinced that the fault lies with us, first of all, because we silently consume what we are offered. I am sure that unless we literally demand quality Ukrainian content, it will not appear on TV on its own.”

Do you think such social videos as yours become an additional incentive for Ukrainians to be proud of their country?

“In some sense, yes. But such stories are a very small step on this path. The reaction to my film showed how important it is for Ukrainians (and for youth in particular) to be proud of their country. Dozens of people write to me saying that this video woke respectful feelings towards Ukraine in them. Some confess that the story moved them to tears. It is remarkable that the majority of reviews were sent by Russian-speaking Ukrainians and those, who only recently choose to use Ukrainian language for their everyday communication. The latter take my video as a confirmation of them choosing a right thing to do.”

Social networks are now full of various patriotic demotivators, but sometimes their quality is doubtful and repelling.

“I agree. Patriotic rhetoric on the Internet is not to be built on contrapositions, especially those of Ukrainians and Russians. At the moment, those who sling mud at Russians on the web think of themselves as patriots. We need positive examples of Ukrainians that achieved something. In other words, we need to propagate those, who proved that they are not just passionate Ukrainians, but also successful ones. In fact, we have plenty of examples to follow.

“Ukrainian youth is very active in social networks today. However, for some people Internet is just a way to let off steam. Of course, it is much easier to write a critical comment to some topic than to go out and do something real to make a change. People should perceive Internet as a possibility to discover the world and realize their aspirations. I am sure that those who spend a lot of their time on the Internet, are the hidden potential of Ukraine. Even the most inactive network users will come out in the streets if their Internet access is shut down or they are forbidden to communicate with each other there.”

By the way, Hontar’s initiative has something in common with The Day’s project “Our Country through the Eyes of Foreigners,” which was launched in 2007. Back then, we offered foreign ambassadors, politicians and experts name three reasons why Ukraine deserves to be loved.