Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

"The next generation of revolution."

2015 1h 38m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 328

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Over 93 days in Ukraine, what started as peaceful student demonstrations became a violent revolution and full-fledged civil rights movement.

“The next generation of revolution.”

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Cast

Cissy Jones
Self - Narrator (voice)
Bishop Agapit
Self
Catherine Ashton
Self
Serhii Averchenko
Self
Kristina Berdinskikh
Self
Pavlo Dobryanskyy
Self
Valery Dovgiy
Self
Bogdan Dubas
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Evgeny Afineevsky
Writers: Den Tolmor
Languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Ukraine

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Ukraine.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, shot by Evgeny Afineevsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jasha Klebe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Will Znidaric shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cissy Jones and Bishop Agapit and Catherine Ashton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The next generation of revolution.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Evgeny Afineevsky directs. Evgeny Afineevsky behind the camera. Jasha Klebe scores. Will Znidaric cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America, Ukraine. Dialogue in English, Russian, Ukrainian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian.
3International production across 3 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Ukraine.
4Directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, shot by Evgeny Afineevsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jasha Klebe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Will Znidaric shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Cissy Jones and Bishop Agapit and Catherine Ashton carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The next generation of revolution.".
9IMDB entry: tt4908644 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "revolution", "politician mafioso", "2010s", "ukrainian revolution".

The technical file

Cinematography: Evgeny Afineevsky
Original score: Jasha Klebe
Editing: Will Znidaric
Sound: Maksym Skorupskyi
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)

Also by

Evgeny Afineevsky

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-08-09
★ 7/10
Spread over three months of a bitter Kyiv winter, this archive-intensive documentary depicts the struggles of the ordinary population to resist an increasingly authoritarian government determined to steer them closer into the ambit of Russia rather than their choice of closer ties with the EU. Initially, just a few dozen people head to the Maidan on Independence Square but social media attracts others and soon with hundreds assembled, the dreaded state police arrive to send them all packing - and violently too if needs be. The more they resist the more perilous their situation becomes - but the more people join their throng and so now involving more than ten thousand peaceful protesters, the world starts to take more notice and both the EU and the UN send representatives to talk to President Yankovych with a view to de-escalating a situation that we see, clearly and often, has long since stopped being dealt with in a civilised fashion by the brutal Berkut. The film is peppered with some television news footage, but it's mostly high-end video footage - i.e. not mobile phone footage - of just how dangerous their activities were, even though for the most part their resistance consisted of little more than speakers on a platform addressing an audience shivering together in the chilly winds and snow. What is also impressive here is the sense of community that develops amongst these strangers. People who have never met before start to assume responsibilities for food, medicine, and generally providing for others without expectation of thanks or reward; they just combine effectively to try to force a change in what they see as their only opportunity. History tells us just what did happen during this aptly named "Revolution of Dignity", but it will be films like this that show just what had to be done to achieve it and also might serve as a salutary lesson to other oppressive governments that keeping their atrocities and excesses under wraps is no longer just a matter of smashing some printing presses.

Production companies