Ukrainian production company behind A$AP Rocky Video

“Filming videos is generally not too complicated these days. But translating storytelling into commercials with high-end cinematography or just making eye candy is not that easy,” says Zurashvili.

According to him, the company strives to express its creativity. For Shelter.film, this process is about more than just completing tasks and implementing projects – it's something that every team member truly enjoys.

“We are blessed to have the opportunity to participate in socially significant projects,” says Zurashvili. “We always support new names and developing talent because the real progress in our industry lies in the people, not just the tools. Since we operate in international markets these days, we still involve top Ukrainian specialists in every project (physically or remotely) to keep these gems of people up to date.”

As mentioned earlier, Shelter.film has worked with many leading companies from various industries. Naturally, numerous customer specifications are taken into account in advertising projects. When we asked how the Shelter.film team manages to preserve the artistic value of every commercial video, Albert Zurashvili answered.

“It may sound exaggerated, but we do everything we can to avoid compromises,” he says. “We don’t overpromise, but we overdeliver and never go under budget. So we say pretty directly: we can do it best within the budget line or not. Nobody wants failure, and we can predict and avoid it. It is not just a reputational risk, but actual damage to professionals and the country's image on the world stage as a film and celebrity destination. So we're not choosing between commerce and art, I would say. We create commercial art.

“In recent decades, Ukraine has become a well-known destination for major brands and artists to film their best projects. To achieve this, service production companies, working with highly qualified specialists, have proven for years with sweat and passion that this is the right way. After years of hard work and establishing the highest level of service in Eastern Europe as well as the most experienced crew, we have recorded significant revenue for the country through all these global projects. Many talented directors and other creative professionals are keen to bring their work to Ukraine or Georgia as the level of performance they achieve and the enthusiasm and commitment of the crews is simply incredible.”

Despite numerous high-budget commercials and various projects, the A$AP Rocky music video is one of Shelter.film's standout achievements. The concept for the video was developed by directors Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, a duo known for their work with many stars of the global music scene, including Coldplay, as well as brands such as Nike and Apple. Shelter.film has previously worked with these directors on various projects, including a Dua Lipa music video.

“It was a freestyle to develop and refine the details of each scene on the go at short notice and in a particularly confidential manner,” says Zurashvili. “Most of the crew members who came to set didn't know who we were shooting for and were surprised when they arrived. A few weeks later, A$AP and his gang arrived in the city and we spent a few amazing days in Kiev filming this crazy project, using all sorts of tricks and filming it with a Kodak 16mm camera. Working with film is always exciting because you can only see the end result once the material has been developed and scanned. It was an unforgettable experience.

“Needless to say, there were a lot of negotiations that took us more than half a year of constant discussions, but it was definitely worth it. One of the highlights for us is that we hired an incredibly talented Ukrainian cinematographer, Denys Lushchyk, to shoot this music video.”

In one of the scenes of A$AP Rocky's music video, a famous scene from the 1977 film Mimino“Georgian director Georgiy Daneliya” comes to life. As Zurashvili explains, this decision was made by the directors. “This is a fantastic reference from Georgiy Daneliya and I’m glad we have it,” mentions Albert. According to him, A$AP Rocky was heavily involved in both filming and post-production and the entire team worked at the highest professional level.

For the Shelter.film team, visual communication is an art form and a unique way to tell a story. This approach applies whether they are working on a commercial advertisement or a music video. “Every art form, even if it is commercial, has a time stamp,” says Zurashvili. “All great stories should be told. Art is about freedom of expression. I appreciate all brands and artists who have the courage to be at the forefront of history. The volume of your voice brings power and responsibility to those who trust and follow you. Positive change can only take place when responsible, friendly and intelligent dialogue takes place. As I said, we are happy about our role and always take full responsibility.”