Sergii Chebotarenko: True art is born where you start trusting yourself.
- Ihor Saveliev
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Sergii Chebotarenko is a film director whose life revolves around art. His debut film, a biographical drama ‘Pulse’, has gained critical acclaim at international festivals. Sergii also works on documentaries, music videos, and commercials for different brands such as Kimera Automobili, Miseno Jewelry, Porsche, and others. His visual language is a harmony of light and momentum.
HASEL Magazine: How did you begin your journey in filmmaking? How did you get started?
Filmmaking has been a great passion of mine since an early age. But as a viewer, I couldn't have imagined making films myself. This passion has been with me since my childhood. I remember my first experience going to the cinema. I couldn't stop staring at the screen. All that magic captivated me.
It all started with photographing my friends. At first, I didn’t expect it to be so captivating. It wasn’t just about the pictures you got. The process itself has been a fundamental part of the incredible joy that comes with creating something beautiful.
For a long time, I've been experimenting with different styles. I think that when you have very little experience at the beginning, it's vital to find inspiration and try to do what you love. As for me, the most important thing is to find your own style that will later define you as if it’s your personal ‘signature’.
In both photography and painting, it can be a certain way of lighting, an angle, etc. You can tell when you find it, it feels like you're in the right place, you just know it.
HASEL Magazine: What were your first steps after photography?
I started with fairly simple videos in natural light. These were music videos and commercials. The budgets were extremely limited, but the desire to experiment was paramount. Different cameras and lenses, unpredictable timelines and weather - I wanted to understand how all these factors influence one's perception and feelings.
HASEL Magazine: How did you get into filmmaking?
It was a dream from the very beginning of my career. Years passed, and I had already moved from low-budget music videos to expensive commercials. The reputation I'd built over time gave me credibility, and new people contacted me. More people meant more work, more trust, and therefore higher budgets. But the dream of making films remained, and at some point I decided the time had come. I realized that if you put in the effort, you'd eventually achieve your goal, one way or another. The search for a genre of my first feature film took some time, and after a while I realized it had to be a story based on real events.
HASEL Magazine: Why did you decide to make a drama?
It took over three years to create my first film, from the idea to its release. Since this was a long journey, I needed to find a theme that was not only interesting but also fundamental and meaningful to my work at that moment. I wanted to tell a story based on a real person. After a long search, I found the story of a track and field athlete, a girl who dreamed of becoming a champion. She achieved great success, but one day, an accident occurred, and she almost completely lost her sight. But she found the strength to fight anyway and won the championship in Beijing.
HASEL Magazine: What were your impressions of the film's festival run?
I attended several film festivals in the US, where my film was selected and won in several categories. I was incredibly delighted that it received the Best Film award, and the one which was so special for me - the Best Director. I was truly happy that the film was so warmly received by everyone. There were other festivals and some other victories later. Perhaps, the very first realization, the understanding that my ideas were feasible - that was the true purpose of that entire journey.
HASEL Magazine: What are you working on now, and what are your plans?
I'm currently working on some new film projects, both documentaries and feature films. At the same time, I'm helping companies with visual aesthetics and making music videos as well. Interestingly enough, I've found a new hobby after all these years. I've started playing the piano and writing my own music. Soon we'll see where this journey takes me.
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