WHEN: Monday, 11 March 2019, 18:30
WHERE: Vue Cinema London – Shepherds Bush, West 12 Shopping Centre, Shepherd’s Bush Green, London W12 8PP
Admission: FREE. Book your free tickets here
Language: film with English subtitles
A documentary about the roughly 70 Ukrainian political prisoners incarcerated throughout Russian and occupied Crimea
Ukrainian political prisoners are held in conditions that threaten their health, life, and human dignity. Many of them are kept in long-term isolated confinement that has devastating effects on their mental health. They have no access to health care services leading to needless suffering, disability, and even death. The prisoners’ rights to communicate with families and the outside world are extremely curtailed.
The movie will show the cases of the prisoners and the way Russian authority penalize those opposing its aggression on Ukraine. We would like to provoke viewers to think, to realize that it is happening just next to them and to take actions to support political prisoners. We would like to show impunity of Russian authority, which detains people, depriving them of the basic human rights, for the reason of generating a fear factor in the battle with its opponents.
Through the stories of three prisoners: Pavlo Hryb, Yevhen Panov, and Bekir Dehermendzhy the documentary will recount the propaganda mechanism and actual goal of show trials conducted in order to justify Russian involvement in Ukraine. On the other hand, their stories will be told by the family members and friends. Showing the prisoner’s everyday life, from the time before being arrested, is crucial to make viewers identify with them.
The documentary movie will show the perspective of organizations and activists both in Ukraine and Russia, trying to undertake actions, to release hostages. Their experience with the mechanisms of propaganda and institutional inequitably will illustrate the current situation in Russia.
Post screening Q&A with Nikolai Polozov, Russian Human Rights Lawyer, Maria Tomak, Ukrainian Human Rights Activist, Journalist, Researcher and Coordinator, and Oleksandra (Alya) Shandra Producer, Ukrainian Civic Figure and Journalist
Trailer: