Winter On Fire： Ukraine's Fight For Freedom【凛冬烈火：烏克蘭自由之戰】

Winter On Fire：Ukraine's Fight For Freedom【凛冬烈火：烏克蘭自由之戰】Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky offers a visceral, in-depth look at the bloody Ukrainian uprising in Kiev’s Maidan Square in the winter of 2013-14 that resulted in the removal of Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych.Winter on Fire supplies a visceral, in-depth look at the bloody Ukrainian uprising in Kiev's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), which took place over several months in late 2013 and early 2014 and triggered a cataclysm that continues to unfold today. Focusing on the three months of street battles that led to the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych, the film reminds us how documentaries, in the tradition of works such as The Battle of Chile and The Square, can have an effect different from that of daily reportage by taking more time on the craft of storytelling.Ukraine's geographic position between Russia and the rest of Europe exerts conflicting pressures on its culture and politics. After making promises to join the European Union, Yanukovych abruptly changed direction in November 2013 and turned toward an alignment with Russia. Protestors took the streets chanting "Ukraine is part of Europe," in a series of peaceful demonstrations that were eventually met with a violent crackdown by the government's Berkut special police force.Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky makes these complicated politics more approachable with vibrant characters, brisk pacing, and well-deployed graphics. He draws on multiple footage sources to chronicle the escalation of events. In this era of sophisticated cameras being more widely available, the footage possesses a higher standard of on-the-scene image-making than what we were used to seeing even a few years ago. Afineevsky shows an artistic eye in his shot selection and editing, and brings clarity to chaotic scenarios. His film captures a striking palette of vivid colours and evocative faces against a wintry landscape.「凜冬烈火：烏克蘭自由之戰」（Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom）由Netflix於2015年推出，曾入圍2016年奧斯卡最佳紀錄片，故事描述烏克蘭在2013年至2014年爆發的「親歐盟示威運動」。

Netflix在影片的簡介欄寫道，最初只是和平的學生遊行，最終卻演變成手段激進的革命和震撼全世界的民權運動，93天內見證了烏克蘭的民主發展，「將帶你看見站在最前線、為烏克蘭自由而戰的故事」。執導本片的導演阿菲涅夫斯基（Evgeny Afineevsky）於5日在個人推特分享影片連結寫道，「這是關於英雄們的故事，他們為烏克蘭的未來獻出生命」，並強調現在電影已免費提供給全世界的人們觀看，希望更多人能了解烏克蘭所爭取的自由。

烏克蘭和俄羅斯都隸屬前蘇聯，烏克蘭於1991年脫離蘇聯獨立，但在歷史及能源等方面仍與俄羅斯緊密相連；對俄羅斯來說，烏克蘭則具有重要地緣政治及黑海出海口地位。

2013年底，烏克蘭與俄國的情勢，因為烏克蘭要與歐盟簽署指標性的政治與自由貿易協議而日益緊張。當時親俄派的時任烏克蘭總統亞努科維奇（Viktor Yanukovych）據傳在莫斯科當局壓力下違反承諾，中止和歐盟簽署協議，更與俄羅斯總統蒲亭（Vladimir Putin）簽署更密切合作協議，導致上萬名民眾不滿，在首都基輔（Kiev）市中心發起抗議。沒想到短短93天的運動，從最初的和平學生示威演變成激烈革命，親俄政府以槍械暴力攻擊示威者，造成嚴重傷亡。最終，烏克蘭的親俄政府也於2014年在示威潮下遭推翻，見證烏克蘭捍衛自由的決心，成功提前舉行總統大選，迎接新政府。

不過這場示威也引發烏克蘭分離運動，2014年，克里米亞在分離組織主導下推動「回歸俄羅斯公投」，選擇脫離烏克蘭加入俄羅斯，此後俄烏邊境動亂不斷。