Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

CinemaSerf

Spread over three months of a bitter Kyiv winter, this archive-intensive documentary depicts the struggles of the ordinary population to resist an increasingly authoritarian government determined to steer them closer into the ambit of Russia rather than their choice of closer ties with the EU. Initially, just a few dozen people head to the Maidan on Independence Square but social media attracts others and soon with hundreds assembled, the dreaded state police arrive to send them all packing - and violently too if needs be. The more they resist the more perilous their situation becomes - but the more people join their throng and so now involving more than ten thousand peaceful protesters, the world starts to take more notice and both the EU and the UN send representatives to talk to President Yankovych with a view to de-escalating a situation that we see, clearly and often, has long since stopped being dealt with in a civilised fashion by the brutal Berkut. The film is peppered with some television news footage, but it's mostly high-end video footage - i.e. not mobile phone footage - of just how dangerous their activities were, even though for the most part their resistance consisted of little more than speakers on a platform addressing an audience shivering together in the chilly winds and snow. What is also impressive here is the sense of community that develops amongst these strangers. People who have never met before start to assume responsibilities for food, medicine, and generally providing for others without expectation of thanks or reward; they just combine effectively to try to force a change in what they see as their only opportunity. History tells us just what did happen during this aptly named "Revolution of Dignity", but it will be films like this that show just what had to be done to achieve it and also might serve as a salutary lesson to other oppressive governments that keeping their atrocities and excesses under wraps is no longer just a matter of smashing some printing presses.