The latest film directed by Ukrainian social activist Ołeh Sencow, whose five-year imprisonment in a Russian labour camp stirred public opinion, arrives in Polish cinemas on 10 December. Today we present the trailer and poster for “Rhino”, which had its international premiere in the competitive Orizzonti section of the 78th Venice International Film Festival. In Poland the film was shown in the International Competition of the Warsaw Film Festival and at the Ukraina! festival.
“Rhino” is a crime drama set in Ukraine in the 1990s, during the transformation of the Soviet Union. A young man nicknamed Rhino starts out as a petty thief and quickly climbs the criminal hierarchy. He knows nothing but violence and cruelty. He has nothing to lose. Will he finally find a chance of redemption? According to director Ołeh Sencow, however, this is not simply a film about gangsters, killing and shooting: It is a story about a man who lived in those times, who went through many trials, who carried something within himself and tried to put his life in order. My aim is not to show one man killing another; I am interested in what a killer feels while committing murder and afterwards, once he has killed – how he lives with such a burden, and why…
“Rhino” was made as a Ukrainian-Polish-German co-production with the support of the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund. The Polish co-producer is Apple Film Production, the company headed by Dariusz Jabłoński, Violetta Kamińska and Izabela Wójcik. This is Apple Film’s third project connected with Ołeh Sencow.
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The titular Rhino is a young man, strong and physically fit, a rare combination of strength, calm and recklessness. We first meet him on the streets of a small post-Soviet town that played a key role in shaping his character. We watch him grow up against the backdrop of the ups and downs of his family life. The subsequent events of his life follow a pattern common to the Soviet era: eat or be eaten, beat or be beaten. Brave and physically powerful, Rhino quickly climbs the ranks of the local criminal gang, soon becoming its leader. But his is not a career free of catastrophic mistakes.
The search for the lead actor was a lengthy process, as director Ołeh Sencow explains: The lead role is played by a debutant discovered during a casting process that lasted ten months, in which more than 700 former prisoners, military personnel and professional athletes were auditioned. The supporting cast is made up of professional actors who help the lead grow into his role, develop as a character, move in sync with the camera and build a team that helps preserve a sense of authenticity.
Ołeh Sencow is a director, screenwriter, former political prisoner and political activist. His feature debut, “Gamer”, had its international premiere at the Rotterdam festival in 2011. After Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Sencow was arrested by the FSB, accused of plotting terrorist acts and secretly transferred to Moscow. Despite the lack of evidence, he was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum-security labour camp. For five years the global #FreeOlegSentsov campaign fought for his release, with the European and Polish Film Academies playing a leading role. In prison he wrote a novel and a collection of short stories, and from behind bars he also directed the film NUMERY (Berlinale Special 2020) based on his own screenplay. After five years in the camp, on 7 September 2019, he was freed in a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. He continues to work for the release of all Ukrainian prisoners held in Russian jails.
“Rhino”
in cinemas from 10 December 2021
Cast: Serhij Filimonow, Jewhen Czernikow, Jewhen Grygorjew, Alina Zewakowa
Written and directed by: Ołeh Sencow
Cinematography: Bogumił Godfrejów PSC
Production design: Jurij Grigorowicz
Casting: Anastasiia Chorna
Costumes: Kostiantyn Kraveс
Make-up: Switłana Polikaszkina
Sound: Patrick Veigel, Michael Kaczmarek
Editing: Karolina Maciejewska
Music: Andrij Ponomariow
Producers: Denis Ivanov, Ołeh Sencov
Producers (Poland): Dariusz Jabłoński, Violetta Kamińska, Izabela Wójcik
Producers (Germany): Heino Deckert, Tina Börner
Production: Arthouse Traffic and Cry Cinema
Co-production: Apple Film Production, Ma.ja.de. Fiction
Co-financed by: Ukrainian State Film Agency, Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Eurimages, Polish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
