"Freedom Or Death!" Ukraine Maidan Revolution Documentary Re-Release

Amongst the many films to have emerged in the wake of the Ukrainian Maidan uprising, "Freedom Or Death!" stands apart in its meticulous investigation and journalistic precision. This film deserves to be regarded as the definitive account of the Ukrainian revolution; an exhaustive and fascinating portrait of a people at war.


The film is told from the point of view of American filmmaker Damian Kolodiy. Kolodiy’s voice narrates the film, which focuses on events in Kyiv, starting with the peaceful demonstrations in support of Ukraine signing a free trade agreement with the European Union. The film examines how those peaceful demonstrations escalate into a violent conflict between Ukrainian activists and the Ukrainian government headed by corrupt President Victor Yanukovych. Through on the ground footage and Kolodiy’s voiceover, the film is a chronological and forensic portrait of how a civil uprising in Kyiv has become a war with Russia that has had global ramifications.

The film has screened at the Phoenix Film Festival where it won the audience award for the best World Cinema film, Miami Independent Film Festival where it won the award for “Best Documentary”, Best Doks in Munich Germany, Molodist Film Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine Universities such as Harvard and Stanford, and at Ukrainian army bases, libraries, and school in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine



Kolodiy first feature length documentary was Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, and he counts that as a prequel to “Freedom Or Death!”