Zelensky

Produced by

Particules Productions SAS

製作年2025

プログラムフォーマットLong métrage

ジャンルドキュメンタリー

上映時間 153 分

あらすじ

Filmed in Ukraine in 2024, Zelensky tells the extraordinary tale of a boy born in the Soviet Union, who, in 2022, found himself at the head of a country being invaded by Russia. The Ukrainian president’s memories, recalled in an exclusive interview, are interspersed with accounts from those who witnessed his youth and rise to power. We also see Zelensky’s live reactions to footage from his past. Born in 1978 in Kryvyï Rih, a mining city in southeastern Ukraine, Volodmyr Zelensky was the only child of Jewish, Russian-speaking parents. His life story reflects half a century of Ukrainian history. The film delves into his early years in “District 95”, where Volodia grew up wearing the red scarf of the Pioneers (the communist youth organisation). Even then, he dreamt of becoming famous to escape the dreary rubbish heaps and blast furnaces of Kryvyï Rih. His childhood friends, Denys Manzhosov, Olena Kravets and Sacha Pikalov, describe a youth hemmed in by garrulous teachers and Soviet traditions. Next followed an adolescence marked by both the hopes and chaos of Ukrainian independence. Volodymyr Zelensky and his friends have numerous memories of him as a boy: in the courtyards of apartment blocks, in the classrooms of his school in District 95, on the wooden stages where he gave his first amateur performances. However, they all remember a hyperactive child, who spent as much time ballroom dancing as he did with his rock band. It was at this time that Zelensky became passionate about KVN, a famous game show born out of Moscow. Today, the series continues to forge ties with post-Soviet states by making the wildest and smartest young students of the former Soviet Empire compete for prestigious prizes. With the Kryvyï Rih team rising through the ranks, Volodia was recruited to help strengthen their lineup. Before long, this small pack of Ukrainians were touring constantly and the gates of Moscow opened up to them. In this way, Zelensky landed a spot on the largest Russian television channel. In 2003, Volodia decided to return to Ukraine and launch his own production house in Kyiv. From Saturday night specials sprinkled with political humour to sappy romcoms co-produced with Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky became a king of TV in Ukraine and beyond. Zelensky was in Moscow when the Maïdan Revolution broke out in late 2013: thousands of Ukrainians crammed into Kyiv’s main square to declare their preference for Europe over Moscow, much to the displeasure of their pro-Russian president. By then, Zelensky was the CEO of a thriving audiovisual company, Kvartal 95, which produced as much for the Russian market as it did for Ukraine. On 1st March 2014, he booked himself a slot on Ukrainian television and used his platform to solemnly address the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart. The annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbass had resolved him to end his contracts with Russia. Despite never having done his military service and being unable to stand the sight of blood, Zelensky took his troupe on a tour of the Donbass frontlines in an effort to raise soldiers’ morale. Through them, he learned to appreciate not only the ravages of war but also the extent of his popularity. Every day, in cafés and kitchens across the country, Ukrainians are discussing politics. So why not create a TV show about it? In Kyiv, the director and the screenwriter of the series Servant of the People, Alekseï Kiriouchtechenko and Yuriy Kostyuk – now speechwriters for the President – reveal the secrets behind this incredibly successful story, one that gained 25 million viewers. Zelensky played the main character: an everyman from Ukraine who becomes president almost by accident. This was enough for a mad idea to start to form in his brain… In late 2018, he surprised almost everyone by standing as a candidate in the presidential election. Running on a limited programme, with meetings that more closely resembled performances, Zelensky won a landslide victory. He promised to end the war and – as the man who had given Ukrainians so much to laugh about – not to make them cry. Taken aback by the Russian invasion of February 24th 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky nevertheless chose to stay put and not run away.