BLACK SUNFLOWERS to Hold TIFF Afterparty With Ben UFO
The Ukrainian coming-of-age documentary, executive produced by Sean Penn, screens at Scotiabank Theatre.
Black Sunflowers, the Ukrainian youth coming-of-age documentary directed by James Marcus Haney (No Cameras Allowed) and executive produced by Sean Penn, will have its world premiere at this year's TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) on Friday, September 11.
Tickets for the premiere screening at Scotiabank Theatre, Screen 3 in Toronto are on sale.
Black Sunflowers has announced details of its official TIFF afterparty with DJ Ben UFO, which will take place at Mooi Space, 75 Pelham Avenue, Toronto, on Friday, September 11 at 10 PM.
The first 100 premiere screening attendees to RSVP will receive complimentary tickets to the official afterparty.
Black Sunflowers portrays the lives of young Ukrainians suspended between youth and duty, where coming of age is shaped by martial law and the realities of the front line.
Through a cast of soldiers and civilians, the documentary moves between fast cars, underground clubs and conversations about the future, only for the realities of war to come sharply into focus. Nature photographers become war photographers, artists train as medics, and young couples attempt to build lives together despite the uncertainty they're faced with.
As another year of conflict stretches on, Haney captures the ordinary moments that persist from the shadow of war. Black Sunflowers offers a piercing view of a nation's struggle to preserve its independence, revealing the fragility of everyday life and the sacrifice it takes to protect it.
About James Marcus Haney
Marcus Haney is an American filmmaker, photographer and volunteer firefighter whose work explores youth culture, conflict and identity. At 22, he dropped out of USC's School of Cinematic Arts to stow away on Mumford & Sons' Railroad Revival Tour from Oakland to New Orleans. His 2014 documentary 'No Cameras Allowed' told the story of his breaking into music festivals to photograph some of the industry's biggest names, a journey that eventually led Mumford & Sons to make him their official photographer. Haney has since become a long-term collaborator, making documentaries, music videos, and album art, with them as well as with Elton John and Coldplay.
In 2022, Haney went on assignment with the NGO War Child UK to Ukraine and it was there that he learned about the underground rave and street racing/drifting scenes still happening, despite the war. The next three years saw him living between Kyiv and LA, embedding into these subcultures and filming 'Black Sunflowers'.
In addition to Ukraine, Haney has worked on assignment in Honduras, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, North Macedonia and Argentina. He currently lives in California.
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