Director Adrian Villagomez & Apashe Film Under Fire in “Kyiv”

Director Adiran Villagomez has collaborated with the artist Apashe many times over the years. He has helmed several spellbinding films for the Belgian-born Canadian electronic music producer. In 2025 alone, he created music videos for “Catch Me,” “Bellatores,” “Rome Is Burning,” and the most recent, “Kyiv.” 

Produced by Fela and filmed on 35mm in the capital of Ukraine during the ongoing war, the video showcases an extraordinary lineup of Ukrainian artists and features breakout Ukrainian singer Alina Pash. 

Apashe has a long-held and deep affinity for Ukraine, as the home of one of his earliest fan communities. Historically, Kyiv has been a thriving hub for artists, filmmakers, and creatives. Apashe and Villagomez felt it was essential to give voice to this community, as it continues to suffer the ravages of war, and chose to shoot the music video for “Kyiv” in the country itself.

The track features vocals from Ukrainian singer Alina Pash. All of the crews and talent were sourced locally, members of a rich community hungry to do more. Over the course of the ten-day shoot, they would sleep each night in bomb shelters, drones would drop bombs overhead, and the sonic waves reverberated off the walls. Every morning, when production started, everyone came out of the shelters, ready with enthusiasm and energy. 

The video is both a love letter to Ukraine and a reminder that there is a thriving talent base of camera crews, dancers, actors, singers, and filmmakers there who can't wait for production to come back once the war ends. As the ending caption states, “The line between ‘there’ and ‘here’ is thinner than you think.”

Alongside the music video shoot, Villagomez captured footage for a documentary that is currently in post-production.