THE TRIAL: THE STATE OF RUSSIA VS OLEG SENTSOV

Oleg Sentsov has been in prison since 2014. The Ukrainian film director is accused of participating in the planning of acts of terrorism. The background of this charge is his political engagement at Euromaidan and his criticism of the Russian government. The extremely dubious sentence was handed down two years later in a courtroom in Rostov-on-Don: 20 years of incarceration in a Siberian prison camp. In his film, Askold Kurov documents Sentsov’s trial, simultaneously exposing the absurdity of the spectacle. In addition, the documentary honours the efforts made by family, friends and lawyers and the solidarity with the imprisoned director expressed by famous filmmakers in the struggle to regain Sentsov’s freedom. In light of the rigor of Russian state justice, the unwavering courage displayed by Sentsov and his comrades in the struggle makes for an incredibly moving film.