Sean Penn’s documentary on Ukraine war premieres at Berlin film festival

Sean Penn’s documentary about the war in Ukraine premiered at the 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival Saturday.

The film, a collaboration between Penn and realty TV star Aaron Kaufman titled “Superpower,” is a feature-length profile of Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky, who spoke to Penn during the early days of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 22, 2022.

Following the showing, Penn said that the US said the US had to accept “a level of shame” for not providing military aid to Ukraine sooner.

“If you imagine what it is if Russia wins, we are all f–ked. Just dead f–ked,” Penn said.

Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, thanked Penn and Kaufman for the film in a Telegram post on Saturday.

“It tells the story of the war for independence, the Russian invasion, which Sean Penn himself met in Kyiv and saw with his own eyes the first day of the start of a full-scale war,” Yermak said.

“Because the battle for true history is another war front on which we must win,” he added. “Truth in cinema is our victory.”