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The film consists of 10 performances, each one is a visualization of the corresponding poem: a mime performance by Noriko Yamamoto, a portuguese guitar performance by Hernani Raposo, singer Jennifer Bettencourt, modern ballet dancer Ceinwen Gobert, a Jewish Poet Vita Shtivelman, a Filipino Poet and Writer Anne Wong, Performance by Sampradaya Dance Creations lead by Suma Nair, Rachana Joshi, Purawai Vyas; performance by clown and actor Nikolay Terentiev, Russian Poet Vera Pavlova, performance by Celebrity Symphony Orchestra lead by the conductor Andrew Rozbicki; performance by persian singer Zoreh Shahbazy, dervish dancer Emod Vafa, musicians Sardaar Mohamadjani, Kourosh Babaei.
Highly regarded and timeless world poetry pieces for a timeless subject - WAR, recited in ten languages, one after another, and depicted montage-style by other art forms, - all to reveal that darkness and hate cannot drive out darkness and hate; only love and light can do that.
WE SHALL NOT SLEEP speaks both poetry and associative cinematic images of various arts forms and art performers; - all to realize broader rewards in media poetry of all forms and create a deeper understanding of physical and psychological consequences of the subject, war.
The film consists of ten poetry segments, with each using the original diverse language from start to finish, and put in a sequence to form one full-length feature. Each segment performs independently from the others when necessary, by making them complete works equipped with a clear beginning and ending.
IRINA VOLKOVA
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Highly acclaimed filmmaker Irina Volkova produces innovative works that push boundaries, champion original perspectives, and affect significant cultural and social impact. Director, writer, and producer of her films Irina evokes topics like diversity, equality, inclusion and human rights. She emphasizes POV storytelling, highlighting the multiplicity of Canadian perspectives that resonate at home and abroad. Combining creative ideas with her own artistic expression Irina connects with the audience through her works on an emotional level. Over the years Irina has built strong working relations with more than 20 ethnic communities in Canada. She thrives in environments that are fast paced, collaborative and allow for creative thinking to bring uncompromised stories to life.
VITA SHTIVELMAN
WE SHALL NOT SLEEP creative idea is taking its roots from a literary project initiated and organized by Vita Shtivelman, poet, translator and founder/artistic director of EtCetera Club/Canadian Cultural Mosaic in 2019. With continuous effort and dedication of EtCetera In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, often called ‘the most Canadian poem’ has been translated into 60 languages. The project received an award from Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA). It was first officially presented on November 9th, 2019 at Fort York National Historic Site where various ethnic communities presented ‘In Flanders Fields’ translated to their respective native languages. The project received an award from Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA).
MARINA DESSIATKINA
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A graduate from the Moscow Institute of Television & Radio, Documentary Directing, Marina later completed her formal filmmaking training at the New York Film Academy.
Marina has directed several documentaries, one of which, "The Great Arctic Adventure” was acquired by the United Nations for its unique audio video archive. One of her most recent works was story research and script editing for a feature project titled "Forbiddance". The film was showcased as one of the 30 best Russian films of the year at the 2015 Moscow International Film Festival.
In 2015, she founded her own film production company, Culterra Magica. She is currently working as a guest Director/Producer for ECG Productions on its on-line documentary series ‘Dream Big’, funded through the Canada Media Fund’s Convergent Digital Media Incentive.
Luc: Between Darkness and Light, Marina’s recent feature documentary funded through CMF/Performance Envelope has been officially selected for competition at Docs Without Borders Film Festival, USA to be held in January 2022.
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ANATOLIY MATESHKO
A Soviet, Ukrainian actor and film director. Born in the city of Gostomel, Kiev region on September 29, 1953.
Graduated from the acting department of the Kyiv State Institute of Theater Arts. I. K. Karpenko-Kary.
In 1985 he graduated from the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors (workshop of V. Grammatikov). Laureate of the All-Union Film Festival in Baku in 1988 (short film “Black Pit”).
Currently he is a teacher of the creative course “Film and Television Directing” at the National University of Culture and Arts (rector - M. Poplavsky).
