Sean Penn’s Ukraine Doc, Superpower, to Premiere at Berlinale 2023

Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman’s documentary on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Superpower, will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival 2023 as the Berlinale Special Gala film.

This year’s program takes place February 16 to 26, a year after the February 24 invasion. “I guess part of the decision is precisely that the Berlin Film Festival will take place

exactly one year after the burst of war, and maybe showing this film in Berlin has a more relevant meaning that in any other place because we are close to Ukraine, because

Ukrainian people live in Berlin, and also because of the political value of this film,” said Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrain of the choice to go with Superpower as the

Gala’s centerpiece. “But it’s not the only one dealing with Ukraine. For me, Superpower — I’m aware that it will drag a lot of attention — is a great door to let you enter to the

very complex, rich description of what happened and is still happening in Ukraine right now.”