Julian Knysh, an Australian Ukrainian documentary film maker currently in Ukraine documenting the war and its effect on people, has conducted an exclusive, historic and rare war time interview with Oleh Sentsov, award-winning Ukrainian film-maker, activist, soldier and former political prisoner of the Russian secret service for five years.
The interview was recorded to coincide with the Australian premiere of Sentsov’s new film Rhino about 1990’s post-Soviet Ukraine, which screened recently at the in-cinema and virtual Sydney Underground Film Festival.
You can listen to the interview here: https://vimeo.com/julianknysh/sentsoviv
Following an international campaign to secure the 2019 release of Sentsov from a Russian prison (who was arrested while helping provide food and supplies to the Ukrainian military in annexed Crimea), Oleh Sentsov went back to film-making. However, following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Senstov joined the Ukrainian army, and has recently seen some of the heaviest fighting on the front lines in the east near Bakhmut.
In the interview, Sentsov speaks about:
- his activism from 2013, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and began its covert war in eastern Ukraine
- the making of the film Rhino after his release from Russian captivity, and why the 1990s were a short but dark period in Ukraine’s history and identity
- how far Ukraine has moved on the social front, rejecting Russian culture and historical myths and choosing to ‘live for a brighter future’
- the need for Russia to decolonise, and for Ukraine to be vigilant in defending its independence.
The interview was recorded at the Ukrainian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War. It is presenting a world-first, “living” exhibition about Russia’s invasion: Ukraine – Crucifixion. Created in real time with the help of authentic materials and artefacts, a recreation of bomb shelters in Irpin, children’s drawings, parts of missiles and russian military equipment. The exhibition highlights the contemporary realities of Russian war.
Extensions of this exhibition are currently being presented in 16 countries. Oleh Sentsov has donated his archives to the museum. The 30 minute interview will be screened as a permanent display in the exhibition.
Backgrounder
Oleh Sentsov joined the large-scale protests (known as Euromaidan) in November 2103 which erupted in response to the President Yanukovych’s sudden decision not to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union (EU).
Following the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula in February 2014, Sentsov went to the Crimean peninsula to help deliver food and supplies to Ukrainian military servicemen. He was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service and falsely charged with planning ‘terrorist attacks’. Despite any evidence, he was unlawfully sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Sentsov went on a prolonged hunger strike for 145 days in protest against Ukrainian political prisoners abducted by Russia and imprisoned on false charges. He was subjected to torture (24 hours straight in one instance), with Russian authorities rejecting requests by human rights lawyers to open an investigation.
The international film community protested for his release together with human rights
groups, giving rise to a global campaign #SaveOlehSentsov.
In 2018, he received the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought,
He was finally released on September 7, 2019, as part of a prisoner exchange deal between
Russia and Ukraine.
Photo source: Oleh Sentsov Interview September 2022 Kyiv
