As part of the Berlin Film Festival on February 18, the premiere screening of the documentary film Superpower by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman took place . The film tells about the war in Ukraine and its President Vladimir Zelensky.
According to Radio Liberty, after the screening of Superpower, the audience gave the directors and crew a standing ovation. Penn flew to Berlin from Kyiv, where he went to show the ribbon to the Ukrainian president.
Filming for Super Power began in November 2021. The original idea of the film was to show how the popular comedian Zelensky turned into a successful politician. The tape also tells about the history of Ukraine since 2014 and includes documentary footage depicting the events of the Maidan and the annexation of Crimea.
After the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the film crew left the country for a while, but filming resumed in the summer. Now the focus of documentary filmmakers was the hostilities and the consequences they caused for the life of the country. In particular, Sean Penn visited Severodonetsk at a time when there were battles for this city. For Superpower, he interviewed a number of Ukrainian politicians, including Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, as well as journalists, diplomats, and the military.
Sean Penn repeatedly met with Zelensky and gave him his Oscar. In September, the Russian Foreign Ministry blacklisted the American actor.