Bitter Harvest: movie about Ukrainian famine released worldwide this week

Bitter Harvest, a romantic-drama about the Holodomor famine set in Soviet Ukraine, comes to cinemas in Ukraine and abroad this week.

Directed by German-born Canadian film director of Ukrainian descent George Mendeluk, Bitter Harvest stars Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Barry Pepper, Tamer Hassan and Terence Stamp. The film follows the story of two young lovers caught in the famine — artist Yuri fights to save his sweetheart Natalka.

The Holodomor was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932—1933 that killed an estimated 2.5–7.5 million Ukrainians under Joseph Stalin’s regime. While some scholars believe that the famine was planned by Stalin, Kremlin officials affirm that, while the Holodomor was a tragedy, it was not intentional.

Find out more about Bitter Harvest here.