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Fundraising Evening in Support of Oleg Sentsov: screening of Gamer and discussion

Name: Fundraising Evening in Support of Oleg Sentsov: screening of Gamer and discussion
Start: 2015-09-21T19:00:00+00:00
End: 2015-09-21T21:00:00+00:00
Location: Frontline Club

September 21, 2015 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

£25.00

WHEN:

21 September 2015, 19.00

WHERE:

Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ

Admission:

£25.00 Book here

All of the money raised will be donated to Sentsov’s Fund. If you cannot attend the event but would like to donate, please get in touch with Sophie Kayes.

Please join us for a screening of Oleg Sentsov’s award-winning film Gamer. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Sentsov’s cousin, Natalia Kaplan, who remains his key supporter and has followed his every step throughout the trial.

The event will be attended by prominent UK cultural figures, including the Young Vic’s Artistic Director,David Lan; the Founding Director of Open City Documentary Festival, Michael Stewart; and the Deputy Chairman European Film Academy, Mike Downey. Additional guests will be announced soon.

Prior to the screening, Kolonist wine company will be kindly providing Ukrainian wine for all attendees. We invite you to help us raise awareness of Sentsov’s plight, and to raise funds for his young family. Sentsov is a single parent to two children who are now cared for by their aunt and grandmother. The family remain strong and resolute, but having lost the main breadwinner there is no doubt that they will need as much support as possible. The admission fee to this event is £25.00, all of which will be donated to Sentsov’s Fund. If you cannot attend the event but would like to donate, please get in touch with Sophie Kayes.

Trailer of Gamer:

Details of Sentsov’s case:

In May 2014, Oleg Sentsov was accused of planning terrorist acts, then arrested and put on trial after attending a protest against the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. In June of that year, a number of prominent European filmmakers, including Ken Loach, Agnieszka Holland, Pedro Almodóvar and Wim Wenders, signed an open letter to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, calling for Sentsov’s release.

On 25 August 2015, the Russian Court convicted the filmmaker and his co-defendant, Alexander Kolchenko, following a trial which was described by Amnesty International as “redolent of Stalinist-era show trials.” Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison, despite reports of the defendants being tortured and after the main witness retracted testimony given under duress.

The Russian penitentiary system can be brutal, and in some instances (such as the case of Sergei Magnitsky) lethal. It is therefore all the more important to ensure that Sentsov’s name remains in the headlines, to remind the Russian government that his case will not be ignored or forgotten.

This event will be held in partnership with the Embassy of Ukraine in London; Open City Documentary Festival; European Film Academy; Open Democracy; and Kolonist Wine Company. Information support by Ukrainian events in London.