In just a few short days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has become a global hero. Who is this man – and what does he stand for? The film presents a portrait of the politician who has become Putin’s adversary.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have taken the easy route but instead he refused the offer from the USA to evacuate him from Kyiv. He is said to have responded with a line good enough for any Hollywood movie: “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride”. Within the space of a week, with his videos and public appearances, he had won the hearts and minds of people around the world. Almost four million people follow him on Twitter, his videos on Facebook and YouTube have likewise been viewed millions of times. He is defending his homeland in a war, which many observers believe Ukraine cannot win. Will he survive?

The film asks what is driving Zelensky and his comrades-in-arms. It tells Zelensky’s life story: How a young man, whose only political experience came from playing a president in a comedy TV series, was elected to the top office in his country. How he suddenly found himself at the epicentre of the reality of Ukrainian politics. And how Volodymyr Zelensky grew from the person on whom a nation’s hopes were pinned to an international hero.

The film has extensive archive material available to it, including an in-depth interview with the Ukrainian President dating from May 2021, as well as footage from war correspondents to document the current events. Expert interviews including with Eastern Europe experts Karoun Demirjian (Washington Post) and Marieluise Beck (Green Party of Germany), political scientist Orysia Lutsevych from Chatham House, London, and the Ukrainian activist and lawyer Mykhailo Zhernakov cast light on Zelensky’s biography and what leeway for action he currently has.