That’s the emotional impact of war. As Serhiy would have said, he felt overburdened as he had to play the role of a protector both in the war and family. So, he let go of his familial responsibilities. He is still taking care of the financial needs of his kids and ex-wife, who have fled to Canada,” says Lesia. The film gave equal or more focus to Serhiy.
He plays with his kids at times and treats them harshly at other times. When asked how she handled these portions, she responds, “I used to shift the camera elsewhere when Serhiy hit his eldest son. As I said earlier, Serhiy couldn’t work on his mental health. Serhiy feels a lot of anger after being on the battlefield, and he shows it to the oldest child. The eldest child then becomes the tyrant to his younger siblings. This is how unresolved anger gets passed on.” On what stopped her from explicitly calling out Russia and if she has plans to do so in the future, she replies in a sensible manner, saying, “I want to make artistic films.
There is no necessity to explicitly call Russia a terrorist state. Through Dad’s Lullaby, I only wanted to convey the emotions. Serhiy losing his personal happiness to protect his country drives home the point. Moreover, I was taught to love, not to hate.
I grew up with humanistic values.” Adding how Ukraine as a nation evolved in the past 15 years, she says, “We were quite naive about Russia’s big ambitions over a decade ago. We didn’t heed the warnings of our soldiers. It was the 2022 invasion that taught us the nasty things humans are capable of. Now we are hopeful, assertive and strong.”
The filmmaker signs off with a message to India and the rest of the world. She says, “India is very similar to Ukraine in terms of resisting colonialism. Ukraine too, just like India, wouldn’t want to be a colony today. In order to understand what is going on with us, I suggest people watch more documentaries and go beyond the usual news stories. I also hope Russians understand that supporting the dictatorial ambitions of their leader is not necessarily patriotic.”