Future viewers participated in the creation of the film with their footage.
The documentary film ‘Okean Elzy: Observing the Storm’ will be released in theaters across Ukraine on November 6. “Mom, after partially watching the film, said: ‘Slavik, I didn’t know all of this,’” says musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk about the documentary ‘Okean Elzy: Observing the Storm.’
“First of all — and perhaps this is the most important thing — we are indeed pursuing an important social goal: we are helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine to resist Russian aggression. And it is very important that thousands, tens of thousands of people are involved in this. Secondly, we want to show that Ukraine, despite the difficult conditions, continues to live. This is sometimes hard to explain to foreigners — for example, Germans — because they are not used to such a contrast between war and festival,” says the 50-year-old musician.
The film about ‘Okean Elzy,’ the most famous rock band in Ukraine, will be released in cinemas on November 6, 2025. It is based on archival materials and interviews with the band members.
The film is the first documentary project of Sweet.TV from its original content line and was created together with the ‘Okean Elzy’ team for national distribution. The production was handled by KNIFE! Films, known for the film ‘Yaremchuk: The Incomparable World of Beauty,’ which was released in 2024 and broke records, becoming the highest-grossing documentary in the history of Ukrainian distribution, as well as for the series ‘Episodes’ and ‘Flash.’
The official premiere in Ukrainian cinemas will take place in the fall — on November 6, 2025. Ukrainian distributor: Kinomania Film Distribution.
Additionally, back in April, the official Instagram of the fan group invited fans to send personal videos and photos from the band’s performances from 1994 to 2015. In particular, from the ‘Alternative’ festival (1995, Lviv), ‘Tavria Games’ (1996, 1998, 2005), the large concert ‘Two and a Half’ (Lviv, 1997), the ‘Supersymmetry’ tour (2003-2004), and the first concert at the NSC Olympiyskiy (2014).
