A documentary on the unrest in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, as student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
2013. Exiled in Switzerland, Olga, a talented and passionate 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast, is trying to secure a place in the National Sports Centre. But the Euromaidan revolt erupts in Kyiv, and suddenly her loved ones are involved. While the girl is adapting to her new country and preparing for the European Championships, the Ukrainian revolution makes its way into her life, and nothing will ever be the same again.
A chronicle of the civil uprising against the regime of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych that took place in Kyiv in the winter of 2013/14. The film follows the progress of the revolution: from peaceful rallies, half a million strong in the Maidan square, to the bloody street battles between protesters and riot police.
Whilst the first shots ring out between pro-Russian government forces and members of the opposition in the winter of 2013, young Nina leaves Crimea. She was raped by a corrupt policeman, her friend was killed, and now she seeks refuge with the protesters on Maidan Square. Revolutionary chaos prevails, and it‘s not at all clear who remains loyal to whom and which means can be regarded as legitimate in the struggle for freedom. Ultimately Nina and her tormentors come face to face again and the spiral of violence is stepped up a further notch. The film was shot to a genuine backdrop, the result of which is a multifaceted allegory on the tragedy currently playing out in the Ukraine.
Three months of revolution. From indignant protest to national unity. From pots on their heads to batons and body armor. From the euphoria of victory to the mourning of the fallen Heavenly Hundred. Revolution as an explosion of revived dignity, as the euphoria of freedom, as the pain of awareness at the cost, as the birth of the modern history of Ukraine. This year we have decided not to have an opening film, because all our attention is focused on the changes taking place in our country today. We have asked the directors who filmed the Ukrainian protests to share their best shots with us. The episodes of these upcoming films about the Euromaidan were formed in a kaleidoscope of revolution, which needs no comment. We offer you a chronicle of the Ukrainian protest. Experience the three months of fighting with us, feel and see the revolution through our eyes.
BREAKING POINT: The War for Democracy in Ukraine looks at people transformed by a democratic revolution, who give up their normal lives to fight a Russian invasion, in a war which has killed 10,000 and displaced 1.9 million Ukrainians.
