Gimme Shelter: How shelter.film Became a Home for Great Creativity

Production, they say, is the art of creative problem solving. If that’s true, Ukraine’s shelter.film is the Einstein of the production world. The problems the company has solved in recent times - and the exhilarating way they’ve gone about solving them - has been a testament to the power of creativity. 

Take last year’s Gojek campaign, for example. When asked to construct an entire city from scratch - complete with 200 extras - as a playground for an outlandish motorcycle stunt (all amidst a pandemic), many would understandably have baulked at the challenge. shelter.film pulled it off, however, in one of last year’s most eye-catching ads.

That project didn’t happen in a vacuum. As part of its core philosophy, the company claims to ‘clash music videos and commercials with storytelling, cinematic value, and technical innovation’. Anyone watching some of their work will see exactly what they mean. 

To look back on some of those projects, as well as find out what makes the company tick, we spoke with executive producer Albert Zurashvili and head of bidding Marina Karmolit. 

Above: shelter.film’s eye-catching campaign for Playstation was created in collaboration with Iconoclast and adam&eveDDB. The spot drew notable critical acclaim, picking up a Silver Lion at Cannes. 

Q> First things first, how did shelter.film come to be? What’s your story?

Albert> We are ‘new kids on the block in the sense’ that we are not very old as a company. As people, however, we are a collective of specialists with an original approach and over 15 years of experience. 

Marina> Since we were founded two years ago, we have been incredibly busy! We’ve worked on over 50 released jobs, have built up exclusive worldwide partnerships, all with an in-house crew of 18 people. On a daily basis, our team is focusing on building beneficial relationships with our partners through a boutique approach. 

Q> Would you say that Shelter has an overriding philosophy as a company? If so, how would you define it?

Albert> I’d say, above anything else, that we believe the process is just as important as the result. So we give due attention to even the smallest details, and blend every little step of the process into the highest quality craft. 

Q> Can you tell us about your work for Kasta’s music video for ‘Walk With Me’? What was your involvement in the project, and - looking back at the finished film - what was the most rewarding part for you?

Albert> This one was a truly important job for us, as it touches upon terrible things happening right now in our ‘brother’ country Belarus - and of course we had a similar situation here in Ukraine seven years ago. 

So when our director Maks Ksenda reached out to us with this idea, there was never any doubt that we would put our hearts and souls into it. The film brings out powerful emotions from all of those who understand the circumstances of an unjust power that unfortunately has the ability to control a nation. So rewatching every second of this film is immensely rewarding for us. 

Above: The music video for Kasta’s ‘Walk With Me’ depicts recent protests in Belarus. The project earned a 3rd-place finish in the ‘best narrative’ category at Berlin’s music video awards. 

Q> And what about ‘911’ for Damso? What are your memories of this project, and what are your feelings watching the video now?

Marina> We have worked with this artist several times, and he is a huge personality in the best possible way. Every day working with him is special to us.

That was our first collaboration with a fresh and kicking production company called ADEUS. I want to give a huge shout out to the team - working with such an artistic crew is always a gift! 

Above: shelter.film collaborated with production company ADEUS films, based in Paris, on the music video for Damso’s ‘911’

Q> Over the years, Ukraine has established itself as the home of amazing and ambitious productions. What makes the country such an attractive place for filmmakers?

Albert> There’s probably a mix of things that play into the success our country is having right now. One of them is that we are undoubtedly one of the most budget-friendly countries in Eastern Europe. We also have talented production designers that can lead projects by themselves, along with superb construction teams for those more ambitious projects. 

We’re also easy to get to - direct flights from most European countries take no more than three hours. It’s also possible to get direct flights from Los Angeles, New York and Toronto for our North American clients. 

Q> Having said that, you guys also work a lot internationally. Do you consider Shelter to be a distinctly Ukrainian company, or are you truly global now?

Marina> When we started shelter.film, we were focused primarily on foreign markets as a service production company. However, around six months ago we started working with local clients and agencies to develop the local production industry scene. We’re also able to provide service in Georgia and have good partners in Kazakhstan, covering that region as well. So yeah, to answer the question — shelter.film was born global, and we’re only getting better at it.

Q> How much of a challenge has Covid been for you guys, and how have you overcome those challenges?

Albert> I won’t lie, things were very difficult and slow through the intense covid period. However, extensive worldwide vaccinations have ensured that things are picking up again. Our company totally supports vaccination (all of our members are now fully vaxxed) and it’s very easy to enter Ukraine for most countries. 

So we’re just keeping on doing what we’re doing, including remote filming which is a perfect solution nowadays. And, of course, we’re adhering to strict protocols whilst working on-set.

Q> Finally, where would you like Shelter to be in a year’s time? What are your goals? 

Marina> We’re hard workers, and we love progressing and expanding. But no matter how much we grow, the most important for us is to keep focusing on a boutique approach and maintaining attention to detail for all of our clients. So, I’d say that in a year we’ll be the same people we are now, working on more cool projects!