Nicole Medvecka is a Ukrainian documentarist based in Berlin. She also works with commercials, music videos and art projects. Two years ago, she directed her debut feature documentary Who If Not Us. This non-narrative register of the SHUM Rave DJs and artists of Eastern Ukraine premiered at ZagrebDox.
Who If Not Us has been selected to the 10th edition of the ArteKino online film festival, and it is available to stream for free during the entire month of December 2025.
Click here in order to watch Who If Not Us now.
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Joshua Polanski – How well-known are the SHUM Rave DJs in Ukraine?
Nicole Medvecka – They’re quite well-known within Ukraine’s electronic and rave subculture. SHUM grew into a recognisable collective before the full-scale War escalated, especially in Eastern Ukraine where they played regularly and built a strong community. But what matters more than “fame” is their influence: for many young people, SHUM became a symbol of freedom, self-expression, and resistance through culture, bringing everyone together and organising events and a community for themselves.
JP – From my understanding, you began filming before the War and you had a different vision for the film. What was the original idea?
NM – Originally, I wanted to explore the emotional landscape of young creatives living in industrial Eastern Ukraine: their humour, escapism, everyday life, and how political it is to grow up on the frontline since 2014. The intention was to film their rave culture as a kind of alternative spirituality. When the full-scale War started, everything transformed. Their inner worlds, which I was documenting, ofc collided with a new external reality. The project shifted toward capturing their life in survival mode and how art can still coexist with all of it.
JP – How did you arrive at the title?
NM – The phrase “Who if not us?” is something Eugene Skypnik (the founder of Shum Rave) said during our very first interview, and it stayed with me immediately. I realised it made perfect sense as a title because the film follows ordinary young people who, even under immense pressure, keep creating, feeling, dreaming, and who remain committed to defending their freedom now and in the future. “Who if not us?” is also deeply rooted in Ukrainian cultural consciousness. It captures a simple truth: if we don’t fight for our freedom, no one else will.
JP – Many of the characters in the documentary reflect on the meaning of art, and especially music, during wartime. What are your own thoughts on the matter?
NM – My thoughts are that art becomes a survival mechanism. When the world around you collapses, creativity is often the only space where you still recognize yourself. Music especially is a place where fear dissolves for a moment. It connects people who might otherwise feel completely alone. In wartime, art doesn’t fix anything, but it helps people stay human, and sometimes that’s already everything. As one of the protagonists said, he was creating music when the sound of shelling was almost not possible to hear anymore.
JP – I’m very curious about the choice to shoot on VHS. It inserts the past into the present in a creative way. Can you say more about this creative choice?
NM – VHS is imperfect, fragile, and nostalgic, and this fragility mirrors the lives of the protagonists. I chose to film parts of the documentary on VHS because it’s a medium that has disappeared, something that will never be produced again. For me, it symbolizes a world where wars and the destruction of lives should also become relics of the past – never to return. When you use the same VHS cassette repeatedly, the image becomes increasingly noisy and grainy over time, which creates an even stronger feeling of “disappearance”.
Also, the texture of VHS acts like a ghost of previous generations of Ukrainian youth who lived through earlier waves of Russian oppression. It visually reminds us that this is not the first time. I also liked the contradiction between this outdated medium and the hyper-modern rave culture. Together they create a memory loop between past, present, and a possible future. We also tried to recreate this mix with the editor in the film.
JP – You chose to create a non-narrative documentary. Please comment.
NM – Because the real story was happening between the lines. These young people didn’t have a linear journey or a single conflict to resolve. Their experience is fragmented, uncertain, constantly shifting, and I wanted the film to reflect that emotional rhythm. A traditional narrative structure felt dishonest. The non-narrative approach lets the viewer drift into their world rather than observe it from a distance. For me, it was also important to share the film’s story as a portrait of a young Ukrainian generation.
JP – While researching for this interview, I found your AI-image experimentations. As a documentary maker and a cinematographer, I’m curious to know if you would use AI in a film? If so, how?
NM – Only in ways that respect reality rather than distort it in this case. AI could be useful for visual metaphors, mood building, or dream sequences – places where imagination is allowed to speak more freely. I would be not interested in replacing the human texture of documentary filmmaking, but I would be interested in expanding visual language. AI is just another brush, not exactly the painter. At least for now! [smiles]
JP – Have you stayed in touch with any of the interviewees? How are they doing now?
NM – Yes, I’m still in contact with all of them. Most of them relocated to Kyiv. They continue creating in different ways, even if life is unstable, especially now in winter with all the blackouts. JmDasha, for example, has already been playing as a DJ in a few nightclubs in the EU, as well as at the famous HÖR BERLIN. She and Vova are also playing a lot in Ukraine. Parties are only during the day now. The founder Eugene is organising DJ masterclasses and different talks about music.
I’m very thankful to them that they allowed me to be part of their hardest times.
JP – What’s one thing you learned on this project that you hope to bring into your next project?
NM – To take more time for creating a documentary film.
JP – Is there anything at the moment that you would recommend for our readers who want to support Ukrainians?
NM – Support local Ukrainian initiatives directly: cultural foundations, volunteer networks, organisations supporting frontline medics. Even small contributions matter. Western media is writing less and less about Ukraine. Also, a lot of false information is circulating. So, just as important: keep paying attention. Visibility is a form of support too.
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Nicole Medvecka is pictured at the top of this interview. The other image is a still from Who If Not Us.
