War Through the Eyes of Animals wraps production in LA
December 7, 2023
Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has wrapped production on War Through the Eyes of Animals, a Ukrainian anthology film that shines a spotlight on animals affected by ecocide due to the war in Ukraine. Penn stars in the anthology’s final story, The Eagle, written and filmed by renowned director Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi (The Tribe), which pays tribute to a Ukrainian nature reserve around Chernobyl ravaged by war.
All the stories in this anthology are drawn from real events, underscoring once again that environmental disasters transcend state borders; they are inherently international issues. Unlike man-made buildings, unique nature reserves can’t be rebuilt; they simply vanish.
The Sean Penn-starred episode, The Eagle features a recording of rare bird voices in a national reserve, where a young sound engineer has ventured at the request of a foreign producer. The engineer is interrupted by the sudden outbreak of war.
Reflecting on the experience, Director Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi commented: “It was a pleasure to collaborate with a global cinema legend and one of the finest actors of our time. His professionalism and dedication left me in absolute awe. Working with Penn on set was a hugely impactful experience as a director, and a genuine celebration of creativity.”
Filming began at the iconic Evergreen Studio in Los Angeles, where the voices of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake, and characters from Friends and The Simpsons have resonated for four decades. Now, Ukrainian films have left their mark on this legendary space.
“The closing scenes are often the most memorable. This led us to distill the message we aim to convey to the world,” stressed
Oleg Kokhan, the visionary behind and general producer of War Through the Eyes of Animals (SOTA Cinema Group). “The environment should no longer suffer silently in times of war. Failing to collectively combat the evils faced by Ukraine daily poses a global ecological catastrophe.”
The second phase of filming, slated for January-February 2024, will take place in Ukraine, depicting events within one of the country’s nature reserves targeted in Russian missile attacks.
SOTA Cinema Group and Kleos Art Productions, a Ukrainian film companies, initiated the production of “War Through the Eyes of Animals” last year. The first three short stories – The Rabbit, or There and Back Again, The Sonny, and The Cow in the Fog – were shot last winter in Ukraine and unveiled at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. The film anthology is set to premiere in 2024.