On the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the film "Freedom in Fire: Ukraine's Struggle for Freedom" was presented
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The film is a continuation of the Oscar-nominated project "Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom"
On February 22, a closed pre-premiere screening of the documentary "Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom" (Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom) by the American film director Yevhen Afineevsky took place in Kyiv. A director's cut was edited especially for this screening, which included footage shot at the beginning of 2023. The event took place in the "Zhovten" cinema, which was attended by the director Yevhen Afineevsky himself, the project team, representatives of the diplomatic corps, journalists, media professionals, military personnel, as well as the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko.
"Freedom in Fire" helps the world not only to better understand what exactly is happening during the Russian-Ukrainian war, but also to trace the roots that were laid during the Revolution of Dignity, which Putin did not accept, because of which the Russian Federation, in fact, started the war seven years ago. That is why I am grateful to Yevgeny, grateful to the 1+1 media team and everyone who participated in the creation of this important story. After all, this is also a kind of shield for us in this war with the enemy and a step towards Victory," Oleksandr Tkachenko commented.
The film presents an in-depth look at the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine caused by the full-scale Russian invasion, telling the story of children, mothers, soldiers, doctors, artists, volunteers, priests and journalists who are transformed by watching the continuous destruction and bloodshed.
At the same time, the film emphasizes the courage and fierce determination of the Ukrainian people to defend their Motherland to the "last drop of blood." Ukrainians show compassion and resilience even when surrounded by death and destruction and witnessing war crimes.
According to the director, in the first 5 months of the full-scale war, he managed to assemble a team of 43 cameramen and 9 editing directors. Dozens of people joined the filming, and more than a hundred heroes shared their stories.
“When I finished the film Winter on Fire about the Revolution of Dignity, many people asked if I would continue the story, because the war started then, in 2014. We continued to shoot in 2014 and 2015. In 2014-2015, I personally hoped that many Ukrainian filmmakers would create their films about the war, but already in 2022, after the world stopped paying attention to the war, I felt the need to return and continue the story that began on the Maidan in the film " Winter is on fire." I needed to find a person who could combine all 8 years of the war and help tell a complete story. Thus, one of the main heroines of the film was TSN correspondent Natalya Nagorna, who systematically covered the war since 2014. Ukraine is a shield for the entire European Union from the Russian imperialist aggressor, and the Ukrainian people are fighting in this war for the freedom and democracy of the whole world , " commented director Yevhen Afineevsky .
The documentary "Freedom in Fire" is dedicated to journalists who gave their lives in the fight for the truth. One of the main heroines of the project was TSN correspondent Natalya Nagorna , a witness to the heroic deeds of Ukrainians and all the tragic events of the 9-year-old Russian-Ukrainian war.
"The most important thing in this film for me personally is the priceless archive, which was collected in real time and is still being collected. This is a timeline that needed to be seen around the world. That is why the tape is presented at a large number of various international events. Foreigners and Ukrainians perceive the film quite differently. For foreigners, the war in Ukraine, especially in such concentration, is a real shock, and for us it is a reality, " added Natalya Nagorna , TSN correspondent.
The world premiere of the film took place at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where the film was awarded the Kineo Award, as well as at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film was screened at the Hampton International Film Festival, Mill Valley International Film Festival, Seattle DocFest (closing), SCAD Savannah Film Festival, DOCNYC, Budapest International Documentary Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Ji.glava International Documentary Film Festival (Czech Republic ), Movies on War Film Festival (Norway) and Eastern Neighbors Film Festival (Netherlands).
Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom also won the Brizzolar Family Foundation Award for Conflict and Resolution Filmmaking, the Power of Cinema Award (Mill Valley), and the inaugural SCAD Daring Documentarian Award, being nominated for the Critics Award Choice Documentarian Award in the "Best Political Documentary" category.
The television premiere of the tape is planned for Ukrainian TV viewers, the date of which will be announced later.
"When Yevhen Afineevsky came to us with a request to help create "Freedom in Fire", we agreed almost immediately. After all, the priority for us is the implementation of projects that bring Ukraine's Victory closer and counteract enemy propaganda. This work is symbolic for every Ukrainian, because its purpose is to show the whole world what is really happening in Ukraine and what our daily reality is like. We thank the team for their extraordinary efforts and we hope that they really translate into great support and much-needed help for our earliest possible Victory," summed up Maksym Kryvytskyi, general producer of 1+1 and director of the television business of 1+1 media.
By the way, in the "Zhovten" cinema, which hosted the event, already on February 24, the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, a thematic repertoire will be shown , and all the cinema's box office receipts on this day will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
