"He cannot be left": Oleg Sentsov's life after a hunger strike

Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, serving the conclusion in the White Bear correctional colony in the city of Labytnangi of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, is restored after leaving the hunger strike and is actively working on the film "Room", told Radio Liberty, the filmmaker Askold Kurov, who visited him on a date.

From May 14 to October 5, 2018, Sentsov held a hunger strike, demanding the release of Ukrainian political prisoners. On October 25, 2018, he was awarded the Sakharov Award. The award ceremony will take place in Strasbourg on December 12. In Moscow, pickets continue to free Sentsov and exchange Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war, they are held opposite the administration of the Russian president.

On Friday, film critic, editor -in -chief of the magazine "Art of Cinema" Anton Dolin:

I began to understand his business and came to myself to the unequivocal conclusion about his innocence

- I take the most lively participation in the fate of Oleg Sentsov since his arrest. This is solidarity on the workshop. Of course, there are many political prisoners, but Oleg Sentsov is a film director, and it is important to me. I know perfectly his impeccable human and professional reputation. Once this attracted my attention to his case, well, and then I began to understand this and for myself came to an unambiguous conclusion about his innocence. Unfortunately, I can only stand in a single picket, write about him on Facebook or testify to as an expert in the trial. But all this, alas, does not affect the fate of Oleg Sentsov and what is happening to him.

Anton Dolin in the picket

- Doesn't it seem to you that after Oleg Sentsov stopped the hunger strike, the attention to his case has slightly decreased?

Attention has decreased - people are interested in extreme situations

- Attention, of course, has decreased. And this is completely explainable: people are interested in extreme situations. A hunger strike is an extreme situation. And prison conclusion, even if it is unprecedentedly long, seems less extreme people. What can be done? We need to talk about this all the time. Say that Oleg Sentsov is not alone. He tried to tell his hunger strike that there are Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and there are Russian political prisoners in Ukraine. And it is necessary, as it was written on the poster with which I stood today, exchange everyone for all. This is a humane and logical solution, which would be good for everyone, ”believes the film critic, the editor -in -chief of the magazine“ The Art of Cinema ”Anton Dolin.

Oleg Sentsov himself, who stopped the hunger strike in early October, is still under the supervision of doctors in the medical part of the White Bear colony. He is actively working on the film on his own play "Number", which is shot in Kyiv. This was told by the lawyer Dmitry Dinze and his colleague-director Askold Kurov who visited the Sentsov colony.

According to Dmitry Dinze , Oleg Sentsov’s condition has improved, but doctors cannot give accurate forecasts how the hunger strike will affect his health:

Doctors to the end Oleg do not say that with his condition

- About doctors - the situation is complicated. Doctors to the end of Oleg do not say that with his condition, how much more he will stay in the medical part of the colony. He still has not returned to the detachment. Sentsov is still in a separate house of medical unit and undergoes rehabilitation after a hunger strike. He was taken to the hospital once: an external examination was carried out, internal organs were examined using special medical equipment - they performed the so -called instrumental examination. It was established that he has organic changes in the area of the heart, kidneys and liver. Oleg asked: "These organic changes can somehow affect health, can they pass?" To which the doctors told him that this is all individual.

Oleg Sentsov during a hunger strike

- What does rehabilitation include?

- As I understand it from Oleg’s story, rehabilitation includes a certain diet, medical tracking, the adoption of certain medical procedures, and drugs. Which specifically - they don’t say to him, they just give pills. They advise you to move less, he is recommended for bed rest.

- How is his mood?

- His mood is cheerful, normal. He is now very actively working on the film, conducts correspondence with the producer, with the team that is engaged in him. He does not have to miss him.

-Did you manage to somehow discuss the latest news related to the event in the Sea of Azov, when the Russian military captured Ukrainian sailors? Does he follow the news? Did he have such information that he thinks about it?

One number of "Novaya Gazeta" was hidden from him

- He is watching the news. What he thinks about it - said nothing. We did not discuss it. He worked all 4.5 hours of meeting mainly with the papers that I brought him. I constantly give him a very large folder-somewhere about 200 sheets-all sorts of different materials in the film. He said that he was following the situation. Previously, only Channel One worked for him. Now they have made an antenna, so it normally monitors the situation. The only thing I came to him was the New Gazeta for several weeks. One number of "Novaya Gazeta", for example, 111th, was generally hidden from it. For some reason, they led him by the nose: yes, let's bring it, in the end they brought nothing. But when Askold came to him on a date, all these numbers of the Novaya Gazeta were given to him. Apparently, they monitor the information or listen to us in some way. At least, everyone gave him and said that there would be no more delays. I would like to hope for it.

Promotion in support of Oleg Sentsov in Kyiv, July 2018

- Do you have the feeling that interest in his work has decreased after Oleg left the hunger strike?

Everyone is waiting for resolution to the situation with Oleg

- Oleg left the hunger strike, and everyone went into a standby mode. Because Petro Poroshenko has presidential elections on his nose. Based on this, everyone is tense to resolve the situation with Oleg. Of course, more acute situations switch to themselves - for example, the one that happened on the Sea of Azov. But about Oleg, for example, foreign filmmakers who wrote a letter in his support are not forgotten. Plus, he received the Sakharov Award and was nominated for the Magnitsky Prize. And all the attention of Oleg himself switched to his work, ”said lawyer Dmitry Dinze.

About how work goes on the film "Room", which is shot based on the play by Oleg Sentsov in Kiev, Radio Liberty told Sentsov in the colony of his colleague Askold Kurov :

He wanted to see himself in order to discuss preparations for the filming of his film "Number"

- A date with Oleg was unplanned. This happened spontaneously. The fact is that he is given short -term dates, several of these dates per year. Usually he changed them to calls home. But this time he wanted to see himself to discuss preparations for the filming of his film "Number", which is now taking place in Kyiv. It so happened that I witnessed this process, communicate with the crew. Therefore, for them it was a unique opportunity to convey to Oleg some questions so that he could answer them live so that it could be discussed with him, write down his answers and transfer back the film crew.

- This is your first meeting after Oleg stopped the hunger strike. How did you react to this decision? And how did he explain it to you?

- We did not discuss the issue of stopping the hunger strike. Of course, I reacted to this with joy, because the state of his health caused very big fears. Knowing his stubbornness and determination, based on the impressions that I received at our meeting during a hunger strike, I knew that Oleg was ready to go to the end.

Director Askold Kurov, author of the film "Process"

- How does Oleg look now, how does it feel?

-Oleg, of course, looks much better than he looked on the 22nd day of the hunger strike when I saw him. He looks healthy. He gains weight, is recovering. But still, under the supervision of doctors in the medical unit. He was awake, energetic. Now he is very passionate about work and actually devotes all the time to work on the film.

- What is the film "Numbers"?

“Rooms” are anti-utopia, the action takes place in some kind of space, the heroes have no names, but there are only numbers. Once they decide to change everything

- “Rooms” is a play written by Oleg 7 years ago. This is such an anti -utopia. The action takes place in some space where there are heroes who have no names, but there are only numbers. And they live, obeying the rules that were written once long ago, and no one knows the meaning of these rules. Once they decide to change everything. The fact is that this is a theater play. The idea to make a film on this play arose only this year with the Ukrainian producer Anna Polenchuk. Oleg himself offered her. Of course, Oleg from prison cannot be a full -fledged director. He cannot fully control everything. Therefore, in Kyiv, his colleague, licenser Akhtem Seytablaev, will work on the site. This is a Ukrainian director who was also born in Crimea. He and Oleg are familiar. Of course, Oleg will lead this process if possible. They conduct active correspondence with the film crew. Oleg’s lawyer constantly travels to the colony, brings materials, prints, what can be shown in color, and brings comments, wishes, and directorial developments to the film crew. I have a very mediocre attitude towards this process - I am an observer.

- How much does Oleg suit how work goes?

Oleg is a very demanding person. He imagines very well what he wants

- Of course, there is roughness. The fact is that Oleg is a very demanding person. He represents very well what he wants. He sees the whole picture and tries to hold and preserve this vision, but he is not a conflict person. Of course, he can demand, but is ready to compromise, if this is not so fundamental. Of course, roughness is also connected with complex communication. Letters sometimes go for a week, sometimes they do not reach at all. This all passes through the FSIN system where the censors read them, and there is no way to send some kind of visual material by mail, only with a lawyer. Therefore, information is often lost. And then, when it turns out that something was done not as Oleg sees, you have to redo it. But in general, all participants in this process, all participants in the crew are like -minded people. We can say that literally everyone came there, first of all, due to the fact that this is the film by Oleg Sentsov. People want to be involved in this.

Oleg Sentsov during the trial

-Are there any deadlines for the release of the film?

-I only know that filming the film will end in the 20th of December, that is, until the New Year. And then there will be post -production, that is, installation. And when it ends, it’s hard to say now. There is no strict dedeline there. It can be expected that the film will be ready in the spring.

- What does the case of Oleg Sentsov mean to you personally?

It is important for me what is happening to him. I know that you can’t leave it

- It so happened that Oleg and I, not being close friends before his arrest, to all these events, suddenly became, at least, he became very close to me during the filming of my documentary about this case "The process" . I met literally with all close friends and colleagues of Oleg, with his family. It is very important for me now what is happening to him. It is important to achieve his release by any means ... I know that it is simply impossible to leave him, you can not leave efforts to release it. Sometimes it is even important to just be near. For me, our meeting is a big event, and for Oleg too. He said: "I will have enough for our conversation for a month." He is in isolation, and I was a postman who brought emotions, impressions of the set from his friends, whom I saw in just a few days to go. I believe that it can happen that he will see his film at least at the premiere, or maybe he will join us earlier, join the work. I really want to believe that this nightmare will end, ”director Askold Kurov, who visited Oleg Sentsov, said in a colony with Oleg Sentsov.

On November 19, the famous French film director Jean-Luk Godar refused to go to St. Petersburg to visit the State Hermitage in protest against the situation with Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian director serving a sentence in a Russian prison. Hodar said this in an appeal to Dmitry Ozerkov, who heads the Modern Art Department of the Hermitage.

Earlier, dozens of cultural figures of France and other countries made an open letter in which they called on the leaders of the West countries to influence the Kremlin in order to achieve the liberation of Sentsov. The appeal was dedicated to the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris on celebrations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

The letter signed by the directors of Jean-Luke Hodar, Aki Kaurisma, Sergey Loznitsa, Andrei Zvyagintsev and others, as well as a number of famous actors, including Marina Vladi, historians, writers and politicians, it is said that it is necessary to use all possible diplomatic methods to free Sentsov and other Ukrainian political prisoners contained in Russian colonies and prisons. If these efforts are unsuccessful, it is proposed to accept an analogue of the American "Magnitsky Law" at the European Union level in order to punish Sentsov involved in the case.

Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of preparing terrorist attacks of Crimea annexed by Russia. The director denies the prosecution. For a long time this year, he held a hunger strike with a demand to free the Ukrainian political prisoners and left it because of the threat of forced feeding. Oleg Sentsov became the laureate of the human rights prize Andrei Sakharov, which is awarded by the European Parliament.