Black Sunflowers. The young Ukrainians in the film produced by Sean Penn “are the hope”

“Daily life took me by surprise, day after day,” said James Marcus Haney, director of Black Sunflower. “In the narrative we hear about Ukraine, half the story is missing.” Haney takes this missing half and turns it into a 95-minute film, which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival and is produced by Sean Penn. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Penn explained what attracts him to – and breaks his heart about – young Ukrainians, to the extent that, at the Oscars ceremony, despite having won an award, he did not attend, because he wanted to remain there, immersed in the Ukraine of resistance that is scarcely visible any more amidst the analyses, calculations and cynicism. In "Black Sunflower", Haney’s camera follows the young people – some of whom are barely 18 – into battle, onto the dance floor, whilst they discuss politics with their grandparents, watch Donald Trump’s election (and pin their hopes on his declaration of war ending within 24 hours), watch Trump and Vice-President J. D. Vance meet President Volodymyr Zelensky, dance, fall in love, tell each other: ‘As soon as we get a moment, we have to get married’, and endure the cuts to international aid from USAID.

Some of the protagonists are soldiers, others are artists; some believe it is their duty to fight in this war, whilst others are not sure that this is the right way to resolve the conflict: for all of them, there is the constant hum of war in the background; for all of them, there is a war and a life as soldiers that they did not choose; for all of them, there is the fear of having to fight for the rest of their lives. Sean Penn states that the Ukrainian youths’ zest for life is overwhelming; he hopes that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will see this film, and that it will be seen by all those who think that Ukraine does not want peace and that we must stop sending weapons to defend the Ukrainians. Look at the Ukrainians and you’ll understand why we must have hope in humanity, says Sean Penn: “This movement, these young people and their very embrace of what we call hope – or the lack thereof – is itself hope.”