A version of this story about “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Struggle for Freedom” and director Evgeny Afineevsky first appeared in the Guild & Critics Awards/Documentaries issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Eight years ago, Evgeny Afineevsky made the Oscar-nominated documentary “Winter in Flames: Ukraine’s Struggle for Freedom” during the 2014 protests that ousted the country’s pro-Russian president. But Russia annexed Crimea shortly after those events, paving the way for its 2022 invasion and for this follow-up movie.
Did you start this film immediately after the Russian invasion in February?
In the early days of the invasion, I called all my friends who had been a part of “Winter on Fire.” There was complete disbelief, even on the 24th when it all started, that something like this was happening in the world today. To bomb all civilian points in Ukraine, out of nowhere? It was a shock. But by the second day, I knew we needed to document it and I was able to tell the story because I have my team there. And I felt that if we close our eyes again on the crimes and the Russian leadership goes unpunished, then who knows what’s next? We already have one foot towards World War III.
You live in Los Angeles and you are a single parent of a 1-year-old boy. Did you travel to Ukraine?
I went to Ukraine three times because it was important to meet my characters, spend time, learn about them, and have deep conversations. The problem is that the conflict was unfolding and no one knew what would happen tomorrow.
I would not be allowed into Russian territory, it would be a one way trip for me. But my background in the Ukraine gave me the ability to film from the first days I got there. When I filmed Maidan (for “Winter on Fire”), you didn’t need permits, you just needed a press credential. This time you needed permits and you needed protective gear, which I brought with me from Hollywood. It was an interesting trip. (laughs)
To start filming at the end of February and have the movie release at the end of August, you need to
It must have moved quickly.
As soon as I brought pictures from my first trip back in March, we started translating and working with them. By May we already had two other editors and by June we had eight editors. With me, there were nine editors working daily. We had five publishers in Ukraine, two publishers in Europe, two publishers here. And that allowed us to put together a movie in three months. The first cut was three and a half hours and we were done in less than two hours.
In the midst of this horrible war, you found moments of true beauty and humanity.
I was looking for something with the great spirit of the Ukrainian people. I wanted to start with something we’re not used to seeing, and I decided to start with the stand-up comedy in the bomb shelter, with the comedian amplifying the spirit of the people and joking about the stupidity that this war brings.
The same with the children. Probably one of these days I will publish the full story of these children. They are talking about their dreams, about this war and how they wish Putin was dead on the news tomorrow. He was looking for moments of humanity and moments of spirit. You walk out of a war zone and people are playing guitars, something you won’t see on TV.
There was an urgency to finish the movie, but it also feels like he had a real urge to watch it.
Yes, we need to educate the world. When I did “Cries From Syria”, I saw the media cycle. Syria was all over the news, and then it all fell apart. I predicted this situation at the beginning of the year, thinking that Ukraine would be in the news and then fall too. We are discovering that the world forgot about Ukraine, forgot about the conflict, and allowed Putin to go much further than what happened in 2014.
We can use the camera as a weapon and show it to the world. For me as a filmmaker, for me as a father, for my friends, I want them to understand the situation in Ukraine.
Read more from the Guild & Critics/Documentary Awards edition here.
