With the current plight of Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, led by Vladimir Putin, the world is pretty shaken up by the series of events that have taken place. Ukraine has fallen in bits and pieces. The constant calls for help, the plight of Ukrainian citizens have taken over the mind of people all over the world. If you want to know the actual context and the backstory of the geopolitical conflict, this documentary is a must-watch that explains the Ukrainian crisis in depth.
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom, is a 90-minute Oscar-nominated documentary film directed by Israeli-American director and cinematographer Evgeny Afineevsky.
The documentary explains Ukraine’s recent past, eight years under the then-Ukrainian (pro-Russian) President Viktor Yanukovych. His decision to not sign the European-Ukraine Association Agreement and his decision to have a closer ties with the Russian government eventually led to a series of protests called the Euromaidan movement.
The revolutionary leaders had demanded the resignation of the President and had also called him the epitome of corruption. This forced the government to take harsh actions against protestors.
The documentary uses a 3-month long actual footage of the protests against an unpopular autocratic decision by President Viktor Yanukovych to join hands with Russia. Seeking their voice in determining their future, this documentary captures events as they occurred during the non-violent protests and the voices of participants to show that unity of the Ukrainians can overturn military and political dominance and digs into a storm of violence and protests where the opening shot shows a pitch-black screen with yells of protests, gunshot sounds, and then an ominous date.
Shot using a hand-held camera, the blurry images and videos are just adding to the intensifying situations and the atmospheric tension. The dialogue exchange between the characters shows the intensity and brutality of the revolution, which went from being a student demonstration to a violent civil rights movement. To gain a basic and historically accurate understanding of the Ukraine crisis, watch this documentary on Netflix now.
Read Also: Urging For Local Ceasefire To Evacuate About 3,000 Indians Still Stranded In Ukraine: MEA
