New Canadian movie sheds light on horror of Holodomor famine

“Bitter Harvest,” the first major movie about the genocidal artificial famine engineered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, comes to cinemas in Ukraine and the US in February 2017.

“Bitter Harvest” tells the story of two villagers, Yuri and Natalka – lovers, whose peaceful life is destroyed by the Soviet authorities, and who battle to survive the artificial famine, known in Ukraine as the Holodomor.

In times when a person could go to jail just for stealing a single ear of corn, Yuri becomes a key figure in the resistance against the Soviet oppressors.

The film shows how Ukrainian villagers were forced to give their whole harvest to the Soviet authorities, being left with no food at all. Those who kept any food were imprisoned or exiled to Siberia. People were also banned from leaving the rural areas so they couldn’t escape the famine.

To continue reading, please visit The Kyiv Post.

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