Director Askold Kurov’s film follows the trial of the Ukrainian filmmaker, writer and activist Oleg Sentsov, who was arrested by Russian secret services in 2014. Sentsov opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and his arrest – on flimsy charges of terrorism – is widely seen as politically motivated. film lays bare the absurdity of the charges against Sentsov and the brazen disregard for truth and justice that characterises Russia’s judicial system today. It also serves as a reminder of the plight of dozens of other Ukrainian political prisoners currently detained in Russia. Askold Kurov is a leading Russian documentary filmmaker. The Trial was premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2017.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with Andrei Kurkov (writer, president of PEN Ukraine), Ellie Knott (LSE), Phil Cavendish (UCL SSEES) and Sasha Dovzhyk (Birkbeck); the discussion will be moderated by Uilleam Blacker (UCL SSEES). The screening is co-sponsored by PEN International.