MAIDAN.
THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM

DOCUMENTARY

Drama / Military / Adventure

80 min

LOGLINE
The island of free people

SYNOPSIS

One evening, Ukrainians gathered in the central square of the capital of Ukraine, because the government suddenly changed the European course, preferring the pro- Russian one. Therefore, a little later, special forces were sent to the square. All the protestors were brutally beaten.

By the next evening, at courtyard of the cathedral was a thousands of them - and they demand justice. The revolution began. The next morning, hundreds of thousands of people went to free the square. Protesters continue peaceful protests, encirclement and blocking of government buildings. Government special forces continue to retreat but then suddenly they surround the square, in order to control the situation on it. On
December 11, the assault begins.

Government special forces rush to the Maidan by cutting off the barricades and moving forward. But behind the last barricade, they have faced with a living shield. Protesters side by side, hand in hand, stay like a wall. The pressure of the two forces last until the morning, until more people gather in the square and the special troops realize that the chance is lost and people won't retreat.

Protests begin to build a whole structure inside movement Maidan. It consists of self- defense union - people who were ready to protect the square with wooden shields to special forces. On the Maidan is a kitchen, on which volunteers work. There are also priests, writers, poets, musicians. Maidan at that time becomes the center of Ukrainian hopes for a better future. There is a Utopian society of free people, and they become the driving force of the revolution. The government is well aware that it was impossible to defeat them. And the people understand this perfectly.

Therefore, when the trial of political prisoners starts, the protesters come to support them. And police forces attack the protesters and beat them. The activists tracked the special forces and blocked their buses, so they could not escape. The protesters demand from the special forces to show their IDs, as well as remove the masks, to know of who are responsible for beating protesters near court. And the special forces fulfill the demands of the protesters. When the government hear about this, they want to take revenge and adopt the Dictatorial Laws. These laws restrict the rights of people in all spheres of life, up to the point where a person wearing a construction helmet would be
put in jail for 15 years.

People are aware that if they don't say their word, government forces would simply put everyone in jail. Protestors decide to go to the Supreme Council, that the deputies must abolish these laws, but they are waiting for an ambush. Unprotected protestors are meet by, noise, light, and smoke grenades. Special troops open fire with rubber shot on people. People build barricades, make Molotov cocktails, begin to rebuff. Special troops wrap grenades with nails and other metal objects. During these clashes there are many seriously wounded people, but they don't retreat, and knock out positions of special forces. Special forces decide to fill the shotguns with real bullets. The first victims appear. The government takes extreme measures to stop the protest. They no longer beat protestors, they hunt down them, kill, bury in forests.

The Maidan went to the waiting phase. But it did not last long. Everyone remembered when Yanukovych became president, he initiated a constitutional coup, so the protesters added one more addition to the requirements. They wanted the return of the 2004-year constitution to take away most of the president's rights.

The Supreme Council supported the initiative and put a vote for the return of the constitution in the order of the day. The protesters came under the Supreme Council to monitor the fulfillment of the conditions. But they fell into a trap. Because the number of special units was small, the government decided to distribute weapons to bandits who were released from prison to destroy the protesters. All night, special forces attacked the square, but the protesters rebuffed. In the morning people from all over Ukraine started to come to the square, thus exceeding the number of people, the tired special forces retreated. The protesters knew that they should not give up. In the morning of the next day, an automatic-gun burst sounded. It became clear to the protesters that they would be shot right now and so, having gathered all their forces with sticks in their hands, they ran after special forces, but meantime the area was taken for aim by snipers. They began to shoot everyone who tried to break through. The killed were taken out of the front without stopping. The bloodlines flowed down the asphalt smoothly. Among the protesters were former military men, who first took up automobile tires and carried them to the front line. With terrible losses and unconquerable fighting spirit, the protesters kindled the fire and hid the smoke from the tires. Then the shots stopped.

In the evening, one of the protesters came out and said a personal message to the president. He gave him an ultimatum - that if the president does not resign before morning, he and his brothers will go on assault. At night, the president left the territory of Ukraine. The next day, the Supreme Council appointed elections.

The protesters, having passed through all these events, realized that in the days of the revolution they for the first time had become a nation and realized that the future of the country depends on them. That only the struggle for true values leads to victory. That those who died - died with dignity, and they should be an example for all those who do not yet know how to fight for their native country. The protesters realized that they had gained new value - their native land, which they will always defend.