Sean Penn continues to engage in the war in Ukraine. After having directed a documentary on the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, presented in February at the Berlinale, the American star will play in a Ukrainian film. It will close the film War through the eyes of animals of the SOTA Cinema group. This work presents the adventures of nine animals involved in the war in Ukraine. “All these stories are based on real events”, specifies Oleg Kokhan, at the origin of the film.
Actor Sean Penn will play in the last of these stories, the one that will close the cinematographic anthology. He will play a sound engineer, witness in spite of himself of the beginning of the Russian invasion, on February 24, 2022. A role that perfectly suits the actor, who was in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky when he learned of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi, director of The Tribe (2014), will be at the helm of this last short film.
“One of Ukraine’s greatest friends”
“I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this film. It is a great honor for me to collaborate with Sean Penn, an incredible actor, an exceptional person and one of Ukraine’s greatest friends,” he said in a statement. “It is crucial for us that artists of the caliber of Sean Penn not only recognize the terrifying reality that we describe, but also contribute their voice”, praised Oleg Kokhan.
Sean Penn has been to Ukraine several times since the Russian invasion began last February. The American actor’s engagement provoked the ire of Moscow which permanently banned him from Russia, while the star went so far as to declare in April 2022 that he was considering “taking up arms against Russia” .