Sean Penn Joins Ukrainian War Film (Exclusive)

Oscar-winning actor and pro-Ukrainian activist Sean Penn has signed on to star in Ukrainian drama War through the eyes of animals.

The film is a nine-part anthology, directed by nine Ukrainian directors, that tells the story of the war in Ukraine through the perspectives of various animals caught up in the conflict. Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi, the acclaimed Ukrainian director of The tribe (2014) will direct the ninth and final segment, which will feature Penn as an American sound engineer who inadvertently witnesses the outbreak of war when, on February 24, 2022, Russian forces invade.

Filming for the segment is expected to take place in Ukraine and Los Angeles during the summer of 2023.

Penn has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine since the start of the war. The two-time Academy Award winner was in the Ukraine filming a documentary for Vice Studios when war broke out. The film, co-directed with Aaron Kaufman, was originally intended as a tongue-in-cheek look at comedian-turned-president Volodymyr Zelensky. Instead it became Superpower, a depiction of Zelensky’s heroic wartime leadership. When the film premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, Penn took the opportunity to call on Western governments to provide more military support to Ukraine.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this film. It’s a great honor for me to collaborate with the incredible actor and amazing person, and one of Ukraine’s greatest friends, Sean Penn,” said Myroslav. “He was with us during the February 24 attack and deeply explores the war and Ukraine in his documentary about him. His support is invaluable to us and he cannot be overrated.”

War through the eyes of animals is produced by Ukrainian production companies SOTA Cinema Group and Kleos Art, with Oleg Kokhan and Oleksiy Makukhin as producers.

“All of the stories in our anthology of films are based on true events,” Kokhan noted, “and it is imperative to us that the likes of Sean Penn not only acknowledge the terrifying reality we represent, but also contribute their voice. This underscores the importance of the film’s ecocide theme in Ukraine. Every bullet, every rocket fragment and every drop of polluted fuel that contaminates our earth represents a slow-acting chemical weapon devastating our ecosystems. Sean Penn has witnessed the situation in Ukraine firsthand, so there is no need to convince him of the importance of the issue. He belongs to the select group of stars who wholeheartedly support causes they believe in and are ready to take action.”

War through the eyes of animals it is scheduled for release in the winter of 2023-2024.

You can check out the trailer for the film below.