In this photo provided by the Ukrainian presidential press office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, talks with US actor Sean Penn in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) | Photo Credit: AP
US actor and director Sean Penn will premiere a documentary filmed in Kyiv featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, organizers said Monday.
The 73rd-annual Berlinale, known as the February 16-26 event, will highlight the battle, marking the first anniversary of the battle. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the event.
pen’s Super strengthBilled as “the chronicle of a film project forced to transform reality into something less controllable but more meaningful,” it will be the most prominent of Ukraine’s entries at the festival.
Festival co-director Carlo Chatrian told reporters that the film was shot in “very difficult conditions”.
Penn was in Kyiv shooting a documentary in late February 2022 when the Russian invasion began. The two-time Oscar winner was seen attending a government news conference in Kyiv and could be seen meeting with Zelensky in a video posted on Ukraine’s president’s Instagram account.
The actor shot the documentary with directing partner Aaron Kaufman for Vice Studios.
Penn had previously attracted controversy as a result of his foray into current affairs, particularly after he and Mexican-American actress Kate del Castillo interviewed Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán while he was on the run.
In 2018, Penn was reported to be making an as-yet unreleased documentary about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey.
Super strength Out of competition, it will be screened in the Berlinale special section of the festival.
Chatrian said the festival, Europe’s first major cinema showcase of the year, would screen several documentaries and feature films from Ukrainian directors, in addition to works by dissident Iranian filmmakers in a sign of “solidarity”.
Berlinale said it would also provide free exhibition space to representatives of the Ukrainian film industry in the festival’s vast European film market and highlight the possibilities of co-productions with troubled directors from Ukraine.
11 day festival will be launched she came to mea romantic comedy featuring game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage and Oscar winners Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway. American actor Kristen Stewart will lead the festival jury, while Hollywood director Steven Spielberg is to collect an honorary Golden Bear award for lifetime achievement.