It’s rare that the director becomes the story. But when Oleh Sentsov was arrested by Russian forces in Crimea in 2014 — he had been protesting Russia’s annexation of the region — the Ukraine filmmaker became a cause célèbre for the European film community. A Russian court found Sentsov guilty of “plotting terrorist acts” and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment. Only a coordinated effort by the European Film Academy, Amnesty International and the European Parliament — acclaimed directors including Ken Loach, Pedro Almodóvar and Agnieszka Holland signed a letter to Russian authorities demanding Sentsov’s release — led to his freedom. On Sept. 7, 2019, five years after his arrest Sentsov and two dozen other Ukrainian inmates were released in a prisoner swap.
The Hollywood Reporter: Director Oleh Sentsov on new film ‘Rhino’
A film director and ex-political prisoner Oleg Sentsov speaks with journalists in an underpass painted like a prison corridor during the presentation of the art project "Underground Despair", dedicated to 98 Crimean residents who were arrested after the annexation of the peninsula by Russia by Georgian artist David Kukhalashvili in downtown Kyiv on Feb. 8, 2021.
