A Filmmaker's Journey into the Violent Clashes between Nationalists and Pro-Russian Groups

In November 2013, the Ukrainian government refused to sign the association agreement with the European Union that had been in preparation for several years. Numerous demonstrations take place in Kiev, denouncing pressure from Russia. In January, President Viktor Yanukovych signed into law a law restricting the right to demonstrate. This act increased the popular uprising in the capital. Clashes with the police left over a hundred people dead in the weeks that followed. The journalists investigated the far-right Right Sector movement, whose members are fighting for the establishment of a nationalist government.

0:00 💥 A filmmaker joins the protests in Ukraine and becomes involved in the violent clashes between nationalist and pro-Russian groups.
5:53 🇺🇦 Ukrainian pro-Russian zombies are preparing for war against Russia in response to the occupation of the country.
11:12 🇺🇦 The Ukrainian nationalist movement and the influence of Russia in Ukraine.
15:57 🇺🇦 Tensions rise in Ukraine as pro-Russian militants clash with right-wing activists, while accusations of fascism and anti-Semitism are debated amidst Russian propaganda and the occupation of Crimea.
22:16 😢 The Tatars in Crimea have faced historical persecution and continue to experience discrimination and threats in the region.
27:51 😮 Journalists face difficulties reporting on the escalating conflict in Ukraine, leading to the capture of a French journalist in Crimea.
34:07 🌍 The international community intervenes to stop the war in Georgia, but Moscow annexes two Georgian provinces that claim their independence: South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
39:33 📚 The Russian government has been investing in various projects in Crimea, leading to economic development but leaving some populations marginalized.
45:16 🇷🇺 The security presence and pressure in Abkhazia, a disputed region, is highlighted, with even the Orthodox Church feeling the effects. The annexation of Abkhazia by Russia has brought economic benefits but also made it a puppet of Moscow. The President of Georgia criticizes Russia's use of force to restore its empire, and fears of Russian expansion are growing in Europe.

Three journalists – Grégoire Deniaud, Vincent Nguyen and Hugo Van Offel - went to three different places across Ukraine to explain what is going on.Gregoire Deniaud was in Kiev and Lviv in order to understand how a movement that was created to denounce rampant corruption has become so radicalised and why the ultra-nationalists of the right wing are so popular nowadays among the insurgents of Maidan. In Kharkiv, he has been following some pro-russian demonstrators

Director: Stéphane Haumant
Release: April 28, 2014 (France)