05 January 2022
Poland/UK/Ukraine
2019
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland tells the extraordinary story of the real-life Welsh journalist who uncovered Stalin’s genocidal famine in Ukraine. Almost 10 million were killed during what became known as The Holodomor of 1932 and 1933. Gareth Jones gained fame, in 1933, from being the first foreign journalist to interview Adolf Hitler. On leaving a government role, Jones decided to travel to Moscow, intent on securing an interview with Stalin himself. Hearing murmurs of government-induced famine, Jones travelled clandestinely to Ukraine where he witnessed the atrocities of man-made starvation. After deportation to London,
Jones was accused of being a liar by those with an interest in silencing him and, as the death count grew, he had to fight for the truth to be heard. In this powerful drama, James Norton gives a bold, sympathetic performance as Gareth Jones, the idealist intellectual and man of action from Barry.
Berlin International Film Festival 2019 – Nominee Golden Berlin Bear Best Film