Everyday Activist - Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Posted on Friday, January 01, 2016 at 03:00 PM

Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

If this documentary doesn’t make the top five, I won’t bother tuning into the Oscars. If you don’t have a Netflix account I’m sure you know someone who does, so invite yourself over to watch this film. I can’t stress enough how important this documentary is to people not just in Ukraine, but everywhere freedom and democracy have value. It’s in the same class as Virunga. I have no idea how these film makers survive in such stressful circumstances to make such important, beautifully executed films. I want to hug Netflix for giving these types of documentaries a platform.

I call myself Everyday Activist, which is a serious step down from my father, who was a freedom fighter in the early 70’s, which led to the creation of Bangladesh. The former won’t stand in the cold to protest climate change. The latter was ready to die for his people and country. Many of his friends already had. Winter on Fire is about the latter group of activists, many of whom paid with their lives. In the winter starting November 2013, people took to the streets in the Ukraine to peacefully protest policies put forth by their elected government. The government responded with escalating violence that lasted three months. These events have contributed to the current situation in the Ukraine.

The film flips back and forth between present interviews and past events. For me, I always look into people’s eyes to see how events actually affected them. Unlike No Fire Zone, where everyone had post-traumatic stress, only one doctor had the suggestion of it. This observation is important, because it means people fought for what they believed in, a free Ukraine. Everyone in the post protest period interviews, understandably had grief over their friends, the state of their country and the violence that occurred. I’m old enough to remember the USSR and many people in the film lived in it at one point. Violence and oppression were known to that generation, which lent strength to the Millennials who were born free, post 1991. They talked about the future of Ukraine and if they don’t stand up to fight, it will be too late.

This isn’t just about the Ukraine, though. Anywhere when people gather to demonstrate their rights, they run serious risks of injury or jail or other forms of persecution. The “other side” likes to plant agitators to instigate and provoke police, so they have an excuse to use excessive violence. The Standing Protest, filmed in Turkey about events that also occurred in 2013, was another good example of these things happening around the world. Luckily that didn’t end up in war. In Canada it’s the same story. Bill C-51 does A LOT of damage to the democratic process. Students and protestors in Montreal and Toronto know this too well. This is why Remembrance Day upsets me so much. “They fought for our freedom” rings hollow to someone informed about the state of the policies and events that clearly show we have significantly less freedom than we think we do.

Calgary Showtimes: Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom >