In Ukraine in late 2013, the Kremlin-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych was facing nightly demonstrations and civil unrest, centred around Maidan Square in Kyiv. Weeks later he had fled to Russia, and a new regime was installed. This began a chain of events which led to the situation that these two countries are in today. Time Machine Maidan is a haunting and often ethereal film which takes the audience on a time leap from today’s battlefields in Ukraine to the battlements of the protest and back to those chaotic and febrile times.
First person footage of the protest puts us at the heart of what was actually happening to both police and protestors, and the film uses this in a way that doesn’t shy away from depicting scenes of violence and injury to both sides. The narrative takes us on a quest to find a lost friend amongst the crowds, mixing memory with reality, drifting between different time periods and events, but always returning to the night-time streets and the protests, showing the passion for change which drives them all on. From our perspective, knowing what the people of Kyiv would be facing 12 years later, the film almost encourages us to call out to the protesters and tell them where their actions are leading. But would they have acted differently if they knew? Would a time machine be of any practical use?
The film offers no solutions to any of the questions it poses, but with skilful compiling of archive footage, we’re invited to reflect on the haunting events of 2013 knowing what we know today.
