Dreams to rebuild his house: Story of the 14-year old boy who became the star of Imagine Dragons' music video
American band Imagine Dragons shot a music video about Oleksandr Zhurskyi, a 14-year old boy from the village of Novohryhorivka in Mykolaiv Oblast.
Oleksandr starred in the music video for the song Crushed, which premiered on 10 May on YouTube.
The band told a story of the life of Oleksandr’s family, which was under Russian occupation in the village of Novohryhorivka for five months.
Overnight, the video became the fourth most popular video on YouTube, and the Ukrainian boy starring in it woke up famous.
The journalists of the Suspilne media outlet found out more details about the shooting of the music video and Oleksandr’s life.
The music video for the song Crushed was shot in Novohryhorivka, near the frontline. The video shows the aftermath of the Russian war crimes: ruined village, destroyed houses and school.
Forteen-year old Oleksandr survived the Russian shelling by hiding in the cellar of his house, and then evacuated from the village. Sadly, his neighbours did not survive.
Upon returning home in the autumn, Oleksandr saw that the front part of the house was destroyed in Russian mortar attacks.
The family still lives in Novohryhorivka and is planning to rebuild the house – Oleksandr told the journalists that he agreed to appear in the music video for this reason.
"Some guy came from America, he is a photographer and singer, and offered me to star in this music video. I didn’t want to do it at first, but then he told me that I can become famous, the volunteers may come to me and help build my house so I finally agreed…
We have repaired the stove, and now we wait for the repairmen in a few days to repair the rest so that we can move [back in] and live here," Oleksandr explained.
Oleksandr also wanted to attract the attention of the volunteers to the destroyed school where he had been learning for 9 years. He really wants it to be rebuilt.
In the end, Oleksandr revealed that he plans to study to be an electrician and live and work in his home village of Novohryhorivka.
In order to help Oleksandr and thousands of other Ukrainians, Imagine Dragons called on their listeners to donate money to the fundraising platform United24.
"Sasha's story is heartbreaking, and there are thousands more like him who desperately need help. Even today, his family is without electricity and other basic utilities," the description of the video reads.
Earlier, neurosurgeons saved the life of 9-year old Sofiia from the city of Mykolaiv, whose head was injured in the explosion of a Russian projectile.
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