Until recently, the restaurant Veselka in Manhattan’s East Village, was best known for their second-to-none Ukrainian food. Established in 1954 by Ukrainian immigrants, Veselka is a three-generation family-owned business that serves “Ukrainian soul food: to its many patrons. However, starting this Friday, February 23rd, Veselka and the people who run it will become the stars of Michael Fiore’s documentary about the restaurant. It chronicles all that Veselka has done to aid the Ukrainian community both in America and abroad since the onset of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022.
In the documentary, second-generation owner Tom Birchard reluctantly retires after 54 years, and his son Jason faces the pressures of stepping into his father’s shoes as the war in Ukraine impacts his family and staff. The film features appearances by New York Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and is narrated by Golden Globe winner David Duchovny (“The X-Files,” “Californication“). The documentary had its premiere earlier this month at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF).
Duchovny, who has Ukrainian ancestry, revealed along and personal history with the restaurant when asked what drew him to the project. “I grew up a few blocks away from Veselka, I’ve eaten there countless times. It’s part of my childhood, my neighborhood.”
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH NARRATOR DAVID DUCHOVNY
Telling the story of a family against the backdrop of a war unfolding in real time was no easy feat for writer/director/producer Fiore, but fortunately the filmmaker has ample talent at his disposal. For instance, long-time friend and collaborator composer Ryan Shore re-teamed with Fiore to do the score for VESELKA. Shore was tasked with realizing Fiore’s vision of “East Meets West” for the documentary’s music. “The east elements are Ukrainian folk melodies and instrumentations, and the West influences are New York City jazz.”
Combining such different musical influences was an exciting creative challenge for Shore. “I’ve never heard a score that sounds like this before,” he shared on the red carpet at SBIFF. VESELKA also gave Shore the opportunity to work famed saxophonist, David Sanborn, one of his favorite saxophonists of all time.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH COMPOSER RYAN SHORE
When discussing the film with Temple of Geek, Fiore revealed that the documentary was conceived before Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “I was just recently looking through old proposals I had sent them [Jason and Tom] to pitch them. The first one, the first sentence is, ‘it’s a story about a father and son’. And that remained the through line.” said Fiore. “And what’s really interesting is, as a result of the war, that storyline actually becomes amplified, in that Jason — not to give too much away — Jason becomes a surrogate father to one of his staff members. Actually, you could say multiple [staff members].”
VESELKA started filming on the 11th day of the war in 2022, and the restaurant swiftly became a beacon of aid to Ukraine. Whether it was sponsoring people from the embattled country to come to the United States and work at Veselka, or raising over half a million dollars to support a slew of different causes aiding those in Ukraine. “It was really inspiring,” relays Tom, the elder Birchard. “There was a real outpouring of people — especially when the war started — of ‘how can we help? Tell us how we can help. What can we do?’ So we did what we could.”
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE VESELKA FILMMAKERS – SPOILERS!
The documentary, which will release nearly two years after the war’s beginning, comes at an important time for the Ukrainians. “We should not think of this just as a war against Ukraine, but a war against democracy. We all should take a stand, ” remarks Jason. His father Tom added, ‘I think this is a crucial time where we really need to pay attention. So i’m hoping in some small way that this film makes the whole plight of the Ukrainian people more on the front burner.”
Given the documentary’s equal focus on food and family as it explores the war, VESELKA: THE RAINBOW ON THE CORNER AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD is well-positioned to do just that. Between Fiore’s storytelling, Duchovny’s narration, Shore’s score, and the Birchard’s open hearts, VESELKA has the power to reignite their very worthy cause.
Veselka is out in select theaters February 23, 2024. You can get tickets in your city through the documentary’s INSTAGRAM.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VESELKA AND SUPPORT UKRAINE
Since1954, Veselka has been serving up Ukrainian food from the same location in the heart of the East Village in Manhattan. Veselka, which means ‘rainbow in Ukrainian’, was founded by Ukrainian refugees in the late 1940s. Ever since then, Veselka has grown from a small newsstand into a 24 hour gathering place, serving up Ukrainian soul food to the delight of locals and visitors alike.
Veselka ships its food and merchandise nationwide. Order HERE
Learn more about supporting Ukraine through Veselka HERE.
Our interview with Michael, Jason and Tom was filmed at Kiva CoWork Downtown Santa Barbara. Learn more about Kiva’s coworking spaces in Santa Barbara and how to become a member on their WEBSITE.
