BERLIN – On the occasion of a screening of “The Trial – The State of Russia vs. Oleg Sentsov” by Askold Kurov, Agnieszka Holland and Volker Schlöndorff, the European Film Academy and Amnesty International protested against the incarceration of the Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov.
Presented by the Berlinale and the European Film Academy as part of the Berlinale Special Section, the premiere on February 11 saw filmmakers team up with 650 spectators holding up signs demanding the release of the director.
Moderated by EFA Deputy Chairman Mike Downey, the discussion after the screening heard Mr. Kurov point out, “The story of making this film is a story of solidarity” and expressing his hope that the film makes Mr. Sentsov less of an abstract person.
While the filmmaker’s cousin Natalya Kaplan had no optimistic news to report, his lawyer Dmitrii Dinze stated that, if an international campaign continues, “it will push the legal regime in Russia.”
To much applause, the EFA’s chairwoman, Ms. Holland said: “Oleg needs us, but we also need Oleg. His courage is very relevant in times like these, maybe more so than two years ago!”
In May 2014, the Ukrainian filmmaker, who was involved in supporting the Euro-Maidan protests in Kyiv and who has opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation at his home in Symferopol, Crimea.
Eventually, at the end of what Amnesty International describes as “an unfair trial in a military court,” Mr. Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in jail for having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature.”
In his documentary Mr. Kurov investigates the truth behind this political show trial.