Ivan Dorn takes to the road

Acclaimed Ukrainian pop star Ivan Dorn and award-winning director Andzej Gavriss have launched a new music video called Foreign Root. 

The 13-and-a-half-minute film is a story of survival against the odds, sensitively directed by Berlin-based, former shots New Director of the Year winner Gavriss, and produced in Georgia by shelter.film.

The film follows a bus full of migrants as they navigate the challenges of displacement and the uncertainty of their futures. Dorn, who co-wrote and soundtracked the film, also features as the bus driver who leads the journey across state lines, while also contending with border control as the passengers find solace and strength in music, shared stories and each other. 

Foreign Root channels both the artist and director’s experiences of displacement, while reflecting on questions of identity and belonging. The film juxtaposes surrealist elements with a visceral portrayal of the loneliness and fear of being stateless, creating a deeply emotional and resonating portrait of humanity.

"This subject matter cut so deep and really took hold of both me and the director Andzej Gavriss, so we ended up making a 13-minute short film."

“I started out writing a song," said Dorn, "then decided to launch it with a music video about migration. But this subject matter cut so deep and really took hold of both me and the director Andzej Gavriss, so we ended up making a 13-minute short film. Foreign Root challenges people’s prejudices or unconscious biases about migrants. The film underscores the individual value of each person and what we stand to gain from each other. It draws from my own experience of displacement.”

“With the world turning upside down lately, I wanted to make a film as naive and honest as a child’s drawing,” added Gavriss.

The collaborative nature of the migrants in the film is reflected in those involved in the production of the film. shelter.film, a leading Ukrainian production service company, relocated its activities as part of a security response to the war in Ukraine. shelter.film has since joined forces with its pre-war rival, Radioaktive, to form a joint venture supporting the industry and all specialists striving to keep it resilient inside and outside Ukraine. Now operating together in Georgia, Slovenia, and Croatia, while still involving key specialists in Ukrainian, the company has redefined collaboration in the face of crisis.