Oleh Sencow

Director, screenwriter, former political prisoner and activist. The international premiere of his film debut GAMER took place in 2011 at the Rotterdam Film Festival.  Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Sencow was arrested by the FSB, accused of planning terrorist acts and secretly transported to Moscow. Despite the lack of evidence, he was sentenced to 20 years in a high-security gulag. The global #FreeOlegSentsov campaign for his release, in which the European and Polish Film Academy played a leading role, lasted 5 years. While in prison, he wrote a novel and a collection of short stories, and from behind bars he also directed the film NUMBERS (Berlinale Special 2020) based on his own script. After five years in the gulag, he was released on 7 September 2019 as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. He continues to work for the liberation of all Ukrainian prisoners remaining in Russian prisons.

SELECTED FILMS

2020 Numbers

2011 Gamer