The Zelensky Story
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- Episode
- Episode Two - President In The Real World
- Broadcast Info
- 2024 (59 mins)
- Description
- After the high of his election victory, Volodymyr Zelensky is forced to face political reality. Using in-depth interviews with Zelensky, his wife Olena Zelenska, and their closest advisors, the film puts the viewer inside the room as Zelensky grapples with what it means to be the leader of a country. From Zelensky’s infamous phone call with Donald Trump to his only meeting with Vladimir Putin in Paris, the former comedian has a brutal initiation into the ruthless world of power-politics. As Putin becomes increasingly belligerent and the drumbeat of war grows louder, Zelensky is under a huge amount of pressure: is Ukraine prepared for war? Is Zelensky up to the job? With many in the West fearing Ukraine would fall to the Russian army, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, visits the White House on the eve of war. Kuleba says the Americans thought he might be the ‘last Ukrainian they would ever receive in the White House’ - and reveals President Biden told him to ‘be a good father’, so Kuleba immediately evacuated his family from Kyiv. The film culminates in the outbreak of the invasion - with extraordinary first-hand testimony from the President, the First Lady, leader of Zelensky’s party Davyd Arakhamia, and Boris Johnson - who is working under the assumption Zelensky will flee Ukraine. It sets the stage for what one interviewee calls ‘the most powerful short video of our times’ - as Zelensky leaves his military bunker to tell the world he is staying in Ukraine to lead the fight back.
- Genre
- History; Politics; Government
How to cite this record
The Open University, "The Zelensky Story". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/250833 (Accessed 19 Apr 2025)