Oleh Sentsov

Oleh Hennadiiovych Sentsov (Ukrainian: Олег Геннадійович Сенцов; Russian: Олег Геннадьевич Сенцов, romanized: Oleg Gennadyevich Sentsov; born 14 July 1976) is a Ukrainian filmmaker, writer, activist and soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Crimea. Sentsov has directed the feature films Gamer (2011), Numbers (2019, co-directed with Akhtem Seitablayev), and Rhino (2021). Following the Russian annexation of Crimea, he was arrested in Crimea in May 2014 and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by a Russian court in August 2015 on charges of plotting terrorism. The conviction was described as fabricated by Amnesty International and others. He was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize in 2018. On 7 September 2019, he was released in a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sentsov joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has been taking part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Battle of Avdiivka and other battles. In 2024, he released Real, a documentary he filmed during a battle in the early days of the war.