Sean Penn slams Trump’s Ukraine stance, urges Ivanka and Kushner to watch new film
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Sean Penn discussed filming his new documentary, Black Sunflowers, while criticizing Donald Trump’s stance on Ukraine (Photo: REUTERS / Mark Blinch / File photo)
American actor and producer Sean Penn wants Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to watch his new documentary, Black Sunflowers, which focuses on young soldiers in Ukraine, Penn told Vanity Fair on September 12.
The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, followed by a joint interview with director Marcus Haney and executive producer Sean Penn by Vanity Fair.
Haney said that the war “is not going to stop until Putin stops it or is forcibly stopped.”
“When you talk to [people], especially military, they don't have any anticipation of it stopping soon,” he said. “So when you hear these kids talk who are fighting on the front lines, they see this as a war they might be potentially fighting their whole lives.”
Sean Penn said the “Ukrainians won,” but stated that “what military resolution will happen is not really something for anybody to comment on.”
The film captures the moment the Trump administration dissolved the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a policy shift that directly impacted LGBTQ+ service members and support programs for wounded soldiers in Ukraine.
Penn labeled the decision “negligent homicide,” but added that he was told not to use those terms.
“It's not polite, which is ironic. We are accepting a great degree of denial and we still believe that we're bulletproof,” Penn said.
The actor and producer added that he would like Donald Trump’s special representative – his son-in-law Jared Kushner – and Ivanka Trump to watch Black Sunflowers.
“This film makes no effort to attack any president,” Penn said. “And these kids' stories are so familiar that there's no reason not to present something that lets somebody connect and have a chance to reflect. And some will and some won't. We know what we think mostly about leadership, but I'm willing to be wrong anytime he wants.”
“It's worth the chance.”
The documentary chronicles a young generation of Ukrainians caught between the milestones of ordinary youth and the brutal reality of full-scale war. The film profiles ravers, street racers, artists, photographers, and frontline soldiers whose lives balance underground parties and high-speed car races with personal relationships, dreams of the future, and the frontline.
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