When mass killings of the EuroMaidan Revolution protesters shook Ukraine on Feb. 20, 2014, YouTube overflowed with videos of the carnage that – combined with previous murders – claimed more than 100 lives before President Victor Yanukovych fled power.
Film director Maksym Spasov has made a documentary movie out of those clops. It is called “Twenty Testimonies About the Turning Point of the Maidan.” The film, released on Feb. 18, offers deep insight into the revolution’s most tragic day.
It took Spasov almost two months to develop a timeline based on the YouTube videos and interviews with witnesses. He collected 20 hours of video material to produce a one-hour movie. He released it on YouTube, explaining that “that’s where it was born.”
The documentary uncovers personal tragedies of families and friends of the victims killed that day. It features the wife of murdered protester Volodymyr Melnychyk speaking about how she witnessed a sniper shoot her husband. In another interview, protester Volodymyr Pastushok recalls dragging the bodies of wounded friends.
The personal stories build a foundation for implicating Russia in the tragic events.
The director cites testimony of Security Service of Ukraine commanders and intercepted radio messages. Spasov tried to reach Berkut riot police, but they turned him down.
Some volunteer and human rights organizations as Euromaidan SOS, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and Centre for Civil Liberties also joined the project. Ukrainian TV stations permitted use of their videos.
“Ninety percent of the physical evidence of the Feb. 20 murders has vanished. But videos remain as proof of the crimes,” says Maria Tomak from the Center for Civil Liberties, who helped in the film’s production.
According to Tomak, the filmmakers shared the collected video material and contacts of witnesses with state investigators, who have made little progress in solving the murders.
While the director has used some artistic techniques, the film abides by the principles of accuracy and objectivity. Spasov has tried to make minimal changes to the original videos.
“Twenty Testimonies” has been screened at various events in Vilnius, Strasbourg, Berlin, Almaty, Tbilisi, Budapest, Bishkek, and Moscow. To see the movie, search YouTube for “Twenty Testimonies Maidan.” Versions include English, French, and German subtitles.
Kyiv Post staff writer Anna Yakutenko can be reached at [email protected].
