This list of stupid questions was put together by the director Sergii Shevtsov about a year and a half before the war in Ukraine while he lived in Kyiv.

These questions were about self- reflection, concerns related to his career, relationships, societal and global standing, as well as the essence of creativity. At the same time, it was important for the director to approach his anxiety and depressive thoughts with a self-ironic perspective.

Visually, he drew inspiration from fashion photography, cinema, and memes, attempting to create visual representations of these questions that resembled 'homemade metaphors.'

FROM THE DIRECTOR

“I composed this list of questions while residing in Kyiv, a year and a half prior to the Ukraine war's outbreak. My intention was to maintain a light-hearted tone, avoiding deep seriousness. These questions lack definitive answers, deliberately so. They encompass facets of self-reflection, career concerns, relationship dynamics, societal and global roles, and the essence of creativity. This concept resided in my phone's notes section.

After a year and a half, I found myself in Canada due to the war. During this time, I crossed paths with Luke McCutcheon, a cinematographer with a documentary background. He expressed a keen interest in projects demanding careful planning, distinct from the spontaneous nature of documentaries. This idea resonated with him, and we embarked on the journey to bring this project to life.

Drawing inspiration from photography, cinema, and even internet memes, we aimed to create a narrative that combined and reinterpreted borrowed ideas, forming new meanings. Visually, we strived for metaphorical depth while ensuring that the metaphors remained relatable in real life. Our goal was to encapsulate the entire narrative within a single locale, conveying a sense of timeless stasis.

Italian composer Francesco Costanza, inspired by Debussy, Satie, and Radiohead, crafted a musical narrative that added depth to the text and visuals. My sincere hope for this work is to resonate with people, allowing them to find their anxieties, moments of introspection, and seemingly trivial questions within it. I don't aim to change the world with this work but rather to convey to those who share similar sentiments: you are not alone.”

-Sergii Shevtsov